Grimm City
by DixieMame
Summary: It's another romantic comedic adventure, an AU tale starring Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Daisy, Goofy, and many more! Welcome to Grimm City, where fairy tales are your next door neighbor. Minnie dons a red riding hood as she becomes a Messenger, but when she runs into the big bad wolves, her life takes a twist that even Mother Goose couldn't predict.
1. Once Upon A Time

_Hello everyone, and welcome to another AU Disney tale full of laughs, romance, and adventure! Unlike my last two projects, where I took the time to develop worlds and characters before building relationships, we're diving head-first into everything. Each chapter has something more to learn about each character and the world they live in._

_ In this first chapter, Minnie meets Mickey, we learn what it means to be a messenger, and we take our first look into the city of smog and night! Big thanks to my editor Lies, and to my pal Cici for inspiring me to write this! I hope you all enjoy it!_

* * *

_Once upon a time, people forgot their fairy tales. They felt they had no time for unimportant lessons of the past, and the stories were left behind to wither in the dust. But no story ever truly fades, and one figure rose from the cobwebs to breathe fresh life to those put aside. Our lady, her holiness, sweet Mother Goose created a place where every story could live and thrive, and she bestowed her majestic powers to give everyone new lives. This was a place where everyone was accepted, and so everyone loved Mother Goose. Yet her continuous use of magic was too much for her body, and sadly, one day she was no more, and her precious land was left to her sons._

"Granny?"

The old woman paused in her storytelling now that she was interrupted, yet her thin fingers continued to knit away at the fluffy pink sweater laying in her lap. Despite the sweater, the thick layer of clothing on her body, and the crackling fireplace she was seated in front of, the grandmother shuddered with chill as she turned to face her small granddaughter. "Mmm? What is it, Rebecca?"

"Minnie." The granddaughter corrected again, more than used to being mistaken for her mother by the senile elder. Though she vaguely resembled her mother in her younger years, the mouse maiden knew that it was age that confused her grandmother's mind more than looks. By now, nearing adulthood, Minnie had looks that were only Minnie's, and not her mother's. These were her big ears, this was her tiny body, and these were her laced gloved fingers trying to finish the last knot on her red riding hood. "I'm sorry, but can we finish the rest of the story later? If I don't leave soon, I'm going to be late for my first day of deliveries."

Granny's withered face fell as she frowned, the clicks of her needles almost in tune with the flicks of flames. "Oh, Rebecca-"

"Minnie."

"I wish you would reconsider. It's far too dangerous out there. You should stay here. The wolves come out at night…" She shuddered again, this time from horrid images in her head. "Those dear Grimms do what they can, but the wolves… the wolves, my dear…"

This was another routine of Granny's that Minnie had memorized. "They follow little girls and pluck out their bones to make their bread." She repeated, bending over to retie the laces on her brown boots. "The money from Mother's savings has run out, and you know I've wanted to be a Messenger like her ever since I could walk. Now that I've gotten an assignment, I'm going to fulfill my duty." Boots tied, check. Sack of messages slung over her shoulder, check. Red riding hood fit snugly around her neck, check. "I won't be long." Smoothing over her skirt, she came to her grandmother's side and kissed the saggy cheek. "Love you."

"If only Mother Goose were around…" Granny shook her head, adding an additional sleeve to the ugly sweater. "She'd know what to do… Rebecca, Rebecca, Rebecca, whatever shall we do…"

Minnie didn't bother to correct her this time, as she had a job to get to. She left the living room, but as soon as she got to the front door, she hesitated. As much as she longed to step out and make a start on her career, it would also be the first time she would step out by herself at night. It sounded like a childish ordeal, but this would be her first step into the adult world. Most ventures outside would be with her elders, getting necessary items like food and clothes, and then they would quickly retreat back home. But with Mother passed away and Granny too senile to be of help, Minnie had to start taking steps to take care of the two of them. She swallowed hard, and then opened the door, walking into the night of Grimm City.

Her house stuck out in an almost ugly fashion, being one of the few homes left not made out of steel. High towers were on every block, and fading blinking neon lights gave halfhearted efforts to lure patrons to their shops. With each passing day, it was becoming more difficult to tell when the day ended and the night began, as the smog from the tallest tower in the city pumped out heavily in disgusting puffs that no one cared about anymore. The Grimm Tower, the highlight of Grimm City, home of the Grimm Brothers, was where Minnie looked as she stood out on her wooden porch. Even from her tiny height and unimportant home she could get a glance of the intimidating structure, and she was sure everyone could see it, even those who lived in the outskirts of the shrinking forest. It served as a constant reminder of who owned the city, and who everyone owed their businesses to.

Minnie shook her head to try and stop the distraction, and closed the door behind her. She had memorized the address she needed for that night, along with every detail on how to get there, and so she began to walk on the cemented sidewalk with her eyes forward. Her footsteps echoed back and forth across the vast city blocks, reminding her and assuring her that she was the only one out tonight. No one dared to be on the streets at night, lest they run into…

She heard an extra footstep, and stopped. There was silence. She waited, and when nothing happened, she exhaled heavily. Granny's paranoia was getting to her! "Wolves. Ha." She pretended to give off a laugh, and resumed walking, though she felt a sudden need to break the quiet. "I'm not doing anything wrong, so they would have no reason to go after me. And… the police are doing a nice job on keeping them in line. And no one wants to be in trouble with the police, so that's double the trouble! And double trouble is not worth anything at all! I'm not afraid of any wolves! Ha ha!" Everything was fine, she had nothing to be afraid of. But it wouldn't hurt to walk a little faster, and it was healthier too!

"Wolves! Ha! Hahaha!" Her deluded laughter was then swiftly interrupted by that extra footstep again. Once more, she froze, and waited for anymore sounds. "Oh, this is silly." She tapped her cheeks, snapping herself back to her senses. "Is this why there are so few Messengers out? Because they're scared of a few steps? I bet it's a lost kitty-cat." Hands on her hips, she turned around, fully expecting to be right.

She was wrong. At the end of the block where she had just left was a tall figure, dressed entirely in tight gray leather, waving to her – with wolf ears sticking out of his cap, a wolf tail wagging from his tight pants, wolf eyes glimmering yellow from shadowed fur, and a most definitely wolfish grin that glinted from the neon lights. "Meow."

Minnie found herself breaking two personal records – this was the loudest she had ever screamed and the fastest she had ever run. She could hear the man giving chase, and then worse, more steps were accompanying him. She dared to look back, and saw shadows moving – more wolves, more leather, men, men, adults, teenagers, all of them with the same features and hungry yellow eyes that sought her bones to make their bread. They were gaining on her, and they shouted at her, using words to claw at her when their sharp nails couldn't.

"What're you doin' in our night, girlie!"

"Don'tcha you know that this is wolves territory!"

"C'mere baby, let me see how you taste!"

She didn't bother to bang on any doors to yell for help, as she knew everyone else had already locked themselves away when night came to avoid this very confrontation. That left her with few options on how to get out of this mess, and her troubles escalated as the next block she was nearing already had a wolf there, a female who was cackling wildly while swinging a cracked bone – a previous victim?! - in her hands. "We'll show you what happens to girlies who enter our turf!"

She couldn't go forwards or backwards, so she could either go left or right. To the right were the open empty streets, and they'd catch up her there. Upcoming to the left was an alley between two stores, and what she believed a way to narrowly escape. She turned left hard, almost spilling the contents of her bag, but to her amplified horror saw that the end of the alley was cut off by a high chain wire fence. She feebly ran up to it, trying to shake it, as if that would somehow make it move. The world around her became darker, and with terrified tears she looked behind her to see the open end of the alleyway now covered in wolves.

The wolves will follow little girls and pluck out their bones to make their bread. The wolves own the city at night. The wolves are merciless - the wolves are monsters - the wolves had hundreds of different stories told by every citizen and Minnie had heard them all. Her back pressed to the fence, and all she could emit were pitiful whimpers as the group took their time to advance on her. The first one she had seen – maybe their leader? – walked out in front of them, and he raised a hand, with his nails sticking out of black gloves. "If this city hasn't learned their lesson about us yet… then maybe it's about time we gave them one big lesson! And it starts here!" This was supported by a series of howls, deafening in their ferocity, and Minnie –

And Minnie couldn't take anymore. Her eyes rolled back, and she fell onto her side, her bag making a bigger sound than her body did when they both hit the gravel. The howls died down almost immediately, and the collected yellow eyes blinked stupidly at what had happened. The tallest who had stepped forward idly poked at Minnie's ear with his foot. "… Think she fainted." He clicked his tongue to his teeth, and then began to laugh, offering high-fives to those around him. "Who's the man? I'm the man! C'mon, gimmie a taste of that bone, I totally earned it!" He yanked away the cracked soup bone from the female who had been holding it, and licked it twice before continuing to boast. "Aw man, the Alpha's gunna love this! We done good!"

They almost forgot about Minnie in their unusual celebration, congratulating each other on their fear tactics, until a smaller wolf ran in with excited yelps. "The Alpha's comin', he's almost here!" The canines quickly began to smooth down their mismatched outfits and fur, but the tallest one stayed in place, eager to show off. The announcement of the Alpha was quickly met with the distant roar of a motorcycle, slowing and quieting down as it neared the alley. Save for the tallest, the wolves backed up to the walls, making room for their true leader. Some almost knocked over the trash cans lined up in the alley, as eager as they were to see the results of their efforts.

The motorcycle crawled to a halt, sputtering out small spitfires of smoke until it finally stopped. The chopper hadn't known a day of rust, and some of the males whistled to see the impressive vehicle. The rider didn't say anything as he climbed off, using his heel to get the kickstand in place. The Alpha stuck his hands in his pockets, dressed entirely in black instead of the gray his lower minions donned. He didn't answer to acknowledge the wolves that began to bow to him and praise him, as they remarked how good his chopper looked, and how great it was to see him. The alpha stood before the Tallest, and the latter puffed out his chest with pride. "So get this! This girlie thought she could just mosey into our turf, and get off scott free! How bad is our rep gettin' when we even got lil' girls thinkin' they own the streets? But don't you worry, cause I scared her good! Even made her faint!" This earned glares from his companions as the tallest was taking most of the glory.

The Alpha still said nothing, and walked around the one in his way. He looked down at the girl, who looked even smaller now in this devastated way. "… Ya did this?" His voice was unusually soft, and those who picked up on it in the pack had their ears flattened. This wasn't good.

"Sure did!" The tallest hadn't taken notice of the change in tone, too engorged on his pride. "It was all me! I probably made her see her life flash before her eyes three times!" He chuckled at his morbid joke, but the joke didn't land as he found the Alpha now clutching his wrist. "… Uh, Alpha?"

What did land was the tallest in the garbage cans, as in one harsh movement, the Alpha had flipped and thrown him faster than any wolf could blink. The others scrambled to get away from the tallest, frightened by what had happened.

"Oooh, shoot, we've really done it now!"

"W-w-whaddya mean we? I didn't upset the Alpha!"

"We are so dead!"

The Alpha faced them all, claws out, and fangs gnashing. "Who else did it? Who scared her?!"

The wolves frantically began to point at each other, putting the blame on anyone but them, hopelessly frightened by their Alpha…

… who happened to be the shortest wolf of them all.

* * *

"_Mommy, mommy!" The little mouse girl thought maybe if she called her mother loud enough and tugged on her mother's red riding hood hard enough, it would make her stay. "Can't you stay a little longer?"_

_Her mother chuckled, kneeling down to lovingly pet her daughter between her ears. "I'm sorry, Minnie. But mommy has important work to do. I'll be back home soon."_

_The girl whined, burying her face and fists in the soft fabric of the hood. "Aren't I important…?"_

"_Of course you are. Oh, my sweet little Minnie." She picked up her child and cuddled her close to her chest, which began to soothe the child's temper. "You know Mommy will always come back for you."_

"_... Promise?" She mumbled into her mother's warmth. "Do you promise, mommy…?"_

But the warmth wasn't from her mother's arms, and as she again mumbled "Mommy…?" she began to fade back into the present, where mother wasn't here anymore and Minnie was all grown-up. Confused, she rubbed her eyes to make sense of the situation, seeing as she was now on top of a dirty old mattress with one or two springs sticking out. Her bag was with her, thankfully, but as she tried to pull it closer, an unfamiliar voice gave her the last jolt to fully wake her.

"So Sleepin' Beauty's finally up."

Minnie was on her knees in the next instant, wide-eyed at who had spoken to her. A boy was leaning on the detached bedpost, not staring quite as hard as she was but still staring at her none the less. He was also a mouse, but so different from her that it wasn't a far cry to say he was an entirely different species. After all, she knew no mice that wore such heavy black leather outfits, no mice with such darkened muzzles, and more importantly, she knew no mice with the eyes of a wolf. He had started speaking again, but she couldn't hear him, because she knew that despite his equally big ears and tail as thin as string, this was still a wolf, and she was still in trouble. She shrieked, starling him, and she held her message sack with both hands. "Not again! Y-y-you stay away from you, you… b-b-big bad wolf!" She then swung the sack around, smacking him across the face and sending him to the floor. The next part of this not-really-thought-out-plan was to make a run for it, but as she stood up on the mattress, she saw that the small shambles of a living room was filled with the wolves that had ambushed her.

They had been sitting around patiently until their leader was assaulted, and now they all sprang up on their boots, snarling. "Hey, girlie, what're you think you're doin'!" One female cracked her knuckles, ready to give some payback after what happened. "After what the Alpha put us through to get you here, this is how you repay him?!"

All Minnie could do was let out a diminished squeak of a "Huh?", on the very verge of fainting again. As for the Alpha, another female was at his side, helping him sit up. "A-Are you okay, Alpha? No one's ever hit you before!"

The Alpha rubbed the small bump on his head where he was hit, nodding along. "… Yeah. No one's ever hit me before." He repeated, but not in the same vein of incredulity as his follower had. Once he had collected himself, he shoved his helper off. "Hey, wait! She's got every right ta be afraid, after what all of ya did! Now, front and center!"

Instead of being mauled, as Minnie thought that's what this night was heading towards, the tallest wolf was joined by a few others in the center of the room. With tails between their legs and their caps taken off, they hung their heads, giving off the appearance of disciplined schoolchildren instead of bloodthirsty gangsters. If Minnie wasn't seeing it for herself, she'd never thought it possible. Then came words she thought wolves didn't even have in their vocabulary. "We're… we're sorry." The tallest weakly uttered, twisting his hat in his hands. "We, uh… went… too far, and didn't mean it…"

"Annnd?" The Alpha urged, arms crossed and foot tapping.

"… And, um, we'll never do it again. Ever, ever again. And we're very, very, extra sorry." The others nodded in unison, keeping their eyes on the Alpha to make sure they did it right.

"Yer darn right yer sorry!" The Alpha smacked his hand against the remains of the bedpost, and Minnie kept looking back and forth between the Alpha and his group. The Alpha hardly came up to any of their hips, yet they were treating him as if was a deity. They clearly outnumbered him, and some were even more muscular than he was, yet they flinched as his voice raised in a pitch that almost matched Minnie's high squeakiness. "I said ta go out and protect our rep, and I find ya scarin' lil' girls ta death! Is that what ya want this city ta think of us? That we got nothin' better ta do than bother people who did nothin' wrong?" There was a chorus of "No, sir!" to which he continued to snap. "Now get outta here! I don't wanna see any of ya the rest of the night, ya got that? Scram!"

The wolves clamored and climbed over each other to get out as soon as possible. With the room emptier, Minnie could take in the room as a whole. It looked abandoned by its previous owners, with obvious holes and old paintings tattered and sideways on the walls. The mattress and its remains had probably been dragged in as an afterthought. "And I'm sorry too." The Alpha faced her again, thought he had taken a step back in case she felt like walloping him again.

"Oh." It was all Minnie could think to say, given the oddity of the past couple of minutes. She wasn't entirely convinced she still wasn't dreaming. The wolves of Grimm City legend, being bossed around by a mouse only a few inches bigger than she was. It sounded like something out of Granny's senile stories. "Oh, well… I'm… sorry for hitting you."

"Ah, I barely felt it." He fibbed, moving his cap around to hide the bump on his head. "Can't really blame ya, either. The gang gave ya a big fright… but it wasn't what I wanted." He shook his head, disappointed with how the night had gone.

"So… you're not going to steal my bones to make your bread?" She knew it sounded silly at this point, but he was still a wolf. A surprisingly nice wolf – and a surprisingly cute wolf – but a wolf all the same.

"Not unless ya got a steak bone in there." He waved a hand towards her message sack, and she held it tighter to her body. "Easy!"

"… I don't." She answered, and began to slide off the bed. "I'm… I'm a Messenger. Minnie. My name is Minnie and I'm a Messenger." Now that her life was no longer in danger of becoming bread material, confidence little by little began to return. "I… I was out delivering messages when the wolves came after me."

"And it ain't ever gunna happen again, I swear it." He pounded a fist to his chest to symbolize how deeply he meant it. "They're only supposed ta keep an eye out for coppers and such. Not scarin' little girls. As for me... the name's Mickey. I'm their leader, so ya can be sure they'll listen to me."

"… But you're a mouse." She was fairly sure of this, and pointed to his ears that were as obvious as hers. "I mean, aren't you? You look like a-"

"Half mouse!" Mickey cut her off in a huff, embarrassed and turning away. Now he too began to look as young and boyish as his gang, and Minnie wasn't sure to do with these new aspects. "I'm wolf where it counts! Now, c'mon." He waved to her, and began to walk away, eager to stop her questions about his heritage.

"C'mon?" She repeated, following him carefully. "Where are we going?"

"Got a message ta deliver, don'tcha?" The doorknob came off in his hand when he opened the creaky door, and he tossed it away without a second thought. "As my way of sayin' sorry, I'm gunna take ya where ya need ta go, Red."

Red? She looked down at her hood, and then continued to follow him. It was a rather friendly offer to make to someone who had walloped you upside the head. "Are you sure about that?"

Mickey idly glanced behind him as they descended down the staircase, old and rickety, voicing its age under every step they took upon it. Even now, he was thinking of lectures to give to the rest of the pack. Were they out of their minds, trying to frighten someone this innocent and naive? The way she carefully moved down the stairs made it look like she had never been to a place this decrepit. "Sure I am. What's the matter? Afraid of the big bad wolf?"

"I'm not." Not entirely anymore, anyway. He was a wolf but he was still being quite generous, and now that she was sure she wasn't dinner, she could get a better look at him and his attitude. He wasn't polite, but he didn't match the whispered words of wolves either. "It's just... well... I hit you really hard, and yet you're being so nice to me..."

"Ya didn't hit me that hard!" In fact, Mickey was rather cute when he believed his masculinity – or at least his wolfhood – was being threatened, given the way he'd duck his cheek into his jacket and avoid eye contact. He was so unlike any wolf Minnie had ever heard of, and even so unlike anyone Minnie had ever met before, that she began to relax with every passing step. "Least I can do after my pack scared ya half ta death." His eyes were forward again, though he continued to glance back every chance he thought she wouldn't notice. Rather, he kept wanting to follow her every movement, as small and demure as she was, to make sure she didn't land in trouble as innocent types like her tended to. "We got a rep ta maintain, and it's got nothin' ta do with terrorizing lil' girls."

Minnie contemplated if being continuously called a little girl was an insult or not. After deciding otherwise, she managed to catch up to him and be at his side when he reached the front door. "Then... what's your 'rep' supposed to be?" By now, she could tell that this building had been an apartment at one point, but the owners had long since given it up.

"Respectable." Not adding anything more, he opened the door. Right ahead, standing on the pavement, was Mickey's motorcycle, almost bigger than he was. It was a well taken cared-for machine, bathed in what lights were left of the city. He caught her surprised expression, and a few of his fangs poked out as he smiled. "First time seein' one of these?"

She nodded.

"And first time bein' on one of these?"

She nodded.

"It's not gunna bite ya, yanno." He took her arm, and began to drag her towards the vehicle, as she had yet to move an inch from the door willingly. "For a Messenger, yer scared pretty easily."

"...I'll just get braver. That's all." She lightly wrestled her arm free, this time choosing to be insulted. "Each new experience will make me braver... like now. Now I'm not scared of wolves anymore."

Suddenly her hips were grabbed, and before she could object, she was lifted up, and as she fidgeted, she was placed right on the back seat. Once she realized what had happened, she exhaled deeply, relieved, and put her delivery bag aside. He let her go, unable to stop smirking. Innocent types like her were always bound to trouble, and there was fun quality about that. It had been ages since he could poke fun at anybody and she made an entertaining target. Not bad on the eyes, either. "Not even me?"

Minnie smoothed down her dress, though wrung her fingers on her cape for the slightest of seconds. "Of course not, after you've been so kind to me. You're not big or bad at all."

He could have just let that go and went on their way, but he simply could not resist the urge to tease her again. That sweet face of hers just called for it. "Not big or bad." he repeated, leaning towards her. She was suddenly very aware of their difference in height. While they were both small compared to most people, he had the advantage of several inches over her. This time, when he spoke, his voice was quieter, calmer, yet contained a growled hunger. "My, Red, what big ears ya have."

"The better to hear messages with." She leaned back in return. The words had come automatically, not understanding what he was up to. For the life of her, she couldn't recall the last time she had been so close to a boy.

He placed one foot on a pedal, to get in even closer, nearly looming over her. "My, Red, what big eyes ya have." It was also very sudden that Minnie noticed how empty and alone the streets were, with only the two of them on that dark night.

The Messenger's cheeks were beginning to match the color of her nickname, and she knew she couldn't lean back any further, lest she fall off. This was fear, but not like when the pack was going after her. She didn't have a name for this different fear. It was why she didn't try to look away."The better to see my customers with." What was he doing? What was this?

"My, Red." His hand cupped her face, thumb on her lower lip, fingers lightly grasping her chin. "What a big mouth ya have." This didn't earn any witty response from her, and she stared intensely at him, waiting to see what he would do, holding her breath. Time stood absolutely still, and decades could have gone by for all the mouse girl knew. Was this a wolf thing? Was this a Mickey thing? Was this what people did? Overwhelmed by too many new experiences at once, she shut her eyes, and waited for whatever would come, her heart deafening in its fervent pounding.

"Just kiddin'!" His clawed hand ruffled her hair, and he took his seat in front of her, having a good laugh at her expense. "Man, Red, yer just too fun, yanno that?" Truthfully this daring act had gotten his cheeks as equally red, but if she didn't see it she couldn't prove it. "Now, which way we goin'?"

Minnie didn't answer him right away, dumbfounded by the joke. She opened her mouth several times to think of how to retort, but her mind blanked. What was this boy? She gave up on understanding his actions, and recited the address. "It's… It's on the corner of Hansel and Gretel. I need to see Professor Ludwig Von Drake."

"I think I've heard of that crackpot." As Mickey twisted the handlebars, the machine roared to life, ready to take the journey. "Just hang tight, Red, and we'll be there in no time."

"… Hang tight to what?" She looked around but there were no bars to grasp onto. Mickey glanced back at her again, and she understood instantly. "… O-oh. Oh, my. Um." Awkwardly, she tried to place her arms around his waist. This was definitely her first time touching a boy, and she thought she was handling it quite well, despite the fact her blushing had even reached her ears at this point. "Like… this?"

"Just like that." It was for the best that they couldn't see each other's faces, given how embarrassed Minnie was becoming and how big Mickey's grin was growing. Maybe he should thank his gang instead.

* * *

Professor Ludwig Von Drake was unaccustomed to guests and more accustomed to the rampant noise that filled his house. An old professor and an older eccentric, his house was filled with experiments that usually didn't help anyone despite his best intentions. Yet for all his odd failures, it was well known that he often worked for the Grimm Brothers, lending mathematical formulas to companies and providing solutions to problems they didn't know they had. That night he was humming as he poured a batch of green chemicals into a thicker batch of purple chemicals, this time answer the solution to the problem "If I mix these things, will they go boom?" It was because he had proved himself right that he didn't hear the knock on his door at first, and as he wiped the exploded goop off of his face, he heard it the second time. "Oh, a visitor! If you have horses, hold them!"

After exchanging his white lab coat for one that looked exactly the same, but with less exploded material on it, he opened the door to interrupt who had interrupted him. "Why, if it isn't little Minnie Mouse!"

Hand raised in mid-knock, Minnie smiled in surprise as she and Mickey stood in front of his open door . "You recognize me?"

"The professor makes it a duty to memorize all of his students!" He pulled her in by her wrist and slammed the door into Mickey's face. "You may not all remember each other, but I will always remember you! Make yourselves at home, as long as you remember that it is my home!" He vigorously shook her hand up and down as Mickey opened the door again, allowing himself in as he rubbed his sore nose. "First grade, you were the best speller in your class! And if you can't spell, you can't do well! That's what I've always said! Except when I'm saying other things. Like when I say, who's this?" He pointed to Mickey, whose presence the professor had only now noticed.

Minnie managed to wrangle her hand free, and to keep herself steady. She didn't want to lose her balance, lest she knock off any of the hundreds of glass tubes and bottles that were lines on the shelves on every wall. Chemicals were being poured and bubbled and boiled, the wrong movement could lead to a domino effect of disaster. "This is Mickey, he's my…" She trailed off, looking at him. What was he, exactly, in the brief hour she had known him? "…Friend?"

Mickey smiled at her, and then walked around the scientific room with less regard to the experiments around him. "Smells like yer up ta somethin', Drake. A new present for the Grimms?" There was a distasteful tone that came with their names, though on the outside he appeared as calm and smooth as ever.

"Yes and no." Drake wagged a finger, perhaps not noticing Mickey's wolfish mannerisms since his mind was all too over the place to focus on any one matter. "The Professor is working on something big, but it's a secret! I can't share it with anybody, not even my past students! So I'm afraid I'll have to cut this visit short, because the best secret is the most that's well kept! That's the other thing I'm always saying!" he made a gesture to the door, but Minnie sidestepped in front of him to keep his attention.

"Actually, Professor, " Minnie dug into her sack, thankful that she could at last do her job. "I'm a Messenger now, and it's my honor to bring you… this!" She pulled out the message – a bright green marble, with the Professor's name etched on one side, and the one who had ordered the message on the other. Mickey had never seen how a Messenger actually worked, so he stuck himself in a corner to watch. Minnie readied herself with a quick breath, and then popped the marble into her mouth. The magic took hold at once, coating her entire body in a light green glow, and she lost all traces of her femininity as her body jerked to fit the ideal of who had sent the messenger. One hand cupped her elbow, and she feigned smoking a cigar, her eyes momentarily losing their color as she became someone. "Good evening, Professor! Mortimer Grimm, at your service."

Long ago had messengers lost the need for paper and ink, finding the magic and science of today to be of much better use. Ludwig had a hand in the creation of these special messages, and was amused to see it working before his very eyes. These messages could contain as much personality and emotion as the sender wanted, without the sender actually being there. Once they filled the message marbles with the information, they sent it off to be delivered, and Minnie was doing this duty as she became Mortimer Grimm, relaying his words and attitude. "Since you've been cooped up in here so long, I thought I'd give you a little reminder. The Grimm City School is having its next big class reunion next month." Minnie-Mortimer inhaled deeply on the cigar that didn't exist, as he had probably been smoking when he dictated. After an awkward exhale, 'they' continued, unaware of the uncomfortable glare Mickey was giving off. "And we want you there as a special speaker. Of course Pete and I will be there too, but we want all of the city's greatest minds there. I'm sending out invitations to everyone who was in the last class you taught. So be there, and look sharp!" With a wave of her hand, the message ended, and the glow was gone. Minnie's eye color returned after one blink, and wobbled as her senses returned. Mickey reached out to help her, but she didn't need it, finding her own footing and suddenly giving an excited jump. "Oh, I did it! I delivered a message! I did it!"

Ludwig laughed and clapped, excited to see her look so proud. "Well done, Minnie! It warms the Professor's heart to see my students do their jobs so perfectly! Here, here, let me pay you up front!" He pulled out her due from the pockets of his coat, and Minnie stopped her hops to see the coins being held out for her.

She delicately took them, holding them in her gloved hands and running them over with a finger. Her first payment, after her first message. She'd really done it! She had survived wolves and weird boys and an eccentric professor, and successfully became a full-fledged Messenger! "Whoo hoo!" She clenched her fists with her earned money, and began to bounce up and down again, unable to get over her accomplishment. She knew she could do it, but to actually do it filled with her unmatched jubilation. "I did it! I'm a real Messenger! I did it, I did it, I did it!" Among other things she did, she banged her fist into one of the shelves, sending a batch of pink, blue, and somehow plaid concoctions over onto the floor, causing them to dissolve a large part of the professor's carpet. "… Oops." She sheepishly placed one of her coins back into Ludwig's palm as he watched his ruined floor, and then she speedily opened his door to leave before she could create a bigger mess.

Mickey snatched the coin back as he whistled behind her.

* * *

"It's a few blocks past where you found me... it's a small wooden house, with a brick chimney."

The duo was riding back to Minnie's place, and Mickey was forced to speak louder than normal, in order to be heard about the lively engine and the ripping wheels. "I think I might know it... Don't see too many of those houses nowadays. Everythin's metal and steel."

"Granny doesn't want to get a new one." She found the right level to be speaking at, and had become slightly more adjusted to holding onto him. "She says our family has lived in that house for generations, even around the time Mother Goose was alive. She even made me promise to raise my family in it too."

"Plan on makin' a family so soon?" He wished he could turn around to see the face that came of that. To share another kindness to her, the rest of the ride home was without conversation, save for a few small directions every so often. It didn't take long for her to spot the familiar puffs of smoke from her chimney, and with a few tugs to Mickey's arm, they slowed down to a stop. She only hoped that Granny wasn't looking out the window, lest she see her granddaughter on a motorcycle with a wolf. That was one unnecessary heart attack.

Again, he came off first, and again, he eased her off. When her feet touched the ground, she smiled at him, all traces of the night's fear vanished. "I know I've said it before... but thank you."

He shrugged one shoulder, trying to pretend he didn't like the gratitude, but his smile was giving him away. "Was it worth it?"

Minnie nodded firmly. "A-huh... I'm never going to forget my first message!"

Mickey raised his eyebrows, and looked down at her to make sure he heard right. "First?"

"Of course." She adjusted her delivery bag, having only needed to give one marble away that night. "I made a commitment... I'm not going to stop. I'm a Messenger, now and forever."

Mickey frowned, as he didn't imagine her to be so stubborn. She had been frightened enough to faint, 'fought' with a wolf, took her first motorcycle ride, nearly wrecked Drake's floor, and she still wanted to keep doing these crazy things? She was either crazy herself, or… "I'd hate to see ya in danger again, Red. How's about I make ya an offer?" Or she was something worth looking into.

She tilted her head, trying to figure out what he was up to now. "An offer? What do you mean?"

"Last I heard, wasn't against any of yer rules that ya couldn't have some company on these trips." He jabbed a thumb back at his bike. "How's about until ya get the hang of things, I help ya deliver these messages? Like… a bodyguard."

"A bodyguard!" She gasped, a dash of surprise, delight, and confusion all at once. If all other wolves were like him, they wouldn't have such nasty words spoken about them. "Oh, I couldn't possibly ask you do to something like that! You've already done so much for me, I wouldn't know how to repay you." Her feet rubbed up to one another, nervous and unsure, as she held her delivery bag close to her. It wasn't fair, for him to do all of these nice things, and she could do nothing in return.

As for Mickey, seeing her in such a state of humble generosity was almost too much for him. He definitely had to protect her now - someone so sweet was never going to survive these missions on her own. The pack would have to understand that, even if he didn't understand it himself. There was this need to protect her, with extra new feelings mixed in, yet he could not let such the opportunity for further teasing pass by. Just one last game, and he'd let her go inside. He cleared his throat. "I'm sure we can come ta an agreement... I got the perfect one in mind." He licked his lips, flashing a few of his pointed teeth. "For every message we deliver together... ya gotta give me one kiss." He gave a small point to himself. "And with that crazy duck done, ya already owe me one."

Just as he predicted, her face was an explosion of dainty bashfulness - heavily flushed cheeks, eyes round as saucers, mouth gaped open, and a tremor to her body. Even her tail flopped to the ground, floored by what had been suggested. Her naivety had reached its limits, and he had broken them into pieces. She whipped around, holding herself, and he had to wonder if she was going to run away. As he suppressed an urge to laugh at the prank he played, it never occurred to him that she would give this any serious thought. If they really were going to become partners, she would have to get used to these jokes. He could not imagine ever growing tired of these reactions.

When she finally turned back to face him, he was biting on his lip, trying to hold back his chuckles. Maybe it was time to release her and reveal the gag. He opened his mouth to do just that...

...But his mouth suddenly became occupied, as it was covered by hers, and nothing was funny anymore. But it was very delicious. Their positions had become reversed with this one little action. She was strong, he was wide-eyed. She was calm, and his were the cheeks that were flushed. Yet as soon as it had started, it was over, as she pulled back, and then took several steps backwards, breathing deeply. "It's a deal!" She even saluted.

He stood there, mouth still open, eyes still wide, cheeks still flushed. What just happened?

"So I'll see you tomorrow, bright and early." Another lovely smile of hers was flashed, her boots clicked together - "Thanks again, Mickey!" and off she went inside the house, slamming the door behind her. She breathed hard when the door was closed, but she never stopped smiling. She could handle wolves, she could deliver messages, so what was this one little deal? With everything that had happened this night, she felt she could do anything. This was the start of Minnie's life of a messenger, and now she felt she could take everything on.

Even as the stars began to fade, Mickey still stood there, mouth still open, eyes still wide, cheeks still flushed.

_My, Mickey, what a big mouth you have._

**End Of Chapter One.**


	2. Her Royal Highness

_As always, thanks to Lies for her great editing! And the song used in this chapter is real. It's called World Is Mine, and it heavily inspired this version of Daisy. Look it up on youtube, it's a lot of fun. Enjoy!_

* * *

_And so, the fair young maiden tamed the notorious wolf, while at the same time discovering not everything she had learned was what it seemed. The maiden and the wolf banded together on their journey, for her quest was far from over. After braving an encounter with the man with a million ideas, the maiden and the wolf set out for their next trial…_

When Minnie woke up the next morning, she was still feeling exhilarated with the new sensations of bravery and discovery from the night before. Every action she took was filled with vigor, from brushing down her fur to tying her red riding hood around her neck. Meeting the wolves, seeing the Professor, and getting a bodyguard, all in under a few hours. Not even her mother had ever experienced such an encounter! "Okay, Granny, I have to go!" She called out to the living room, wanting to start on her newest delivery as soon as possible. "I'll be sure to pick up some groceries after my delivery, okay?"

Granny moved back and forth in her rocking chair, counting the stitches in an unfinished pink scarf. "Where are you off to, Rebecca?"

"Minnie." Dressed and ready, Minnie came over to her grandmother's side. Maybe she had time to ask her elder a few questions before her ride arrived. "And I'm going to do my job soon, but…" She leaned on the rocking chair's armrest, unsure of how to word her quandary. "… How long should you know a boy before you kiss him?"

Satisfied with the stitches, Granny picked up her needles and began to work. "Oh, I loved your father, Rebecca."

"Minnie."

"I knew he was the one for me the moment I saw him." Her wrinkles added extra smiles to her face as she sighed in sweet memories, slowing down her stitches. "I turned down three other suitors just be in the same room as him. A good man is good company. That's why you should never let anything stand in your way when you have a good man." She lightly tapped Minnie's hand with one needle, hammering the lesson in. "So if you need to kiss him right away to keep him, then that's what you should do. Especially if he can protect you from the wolves!"

Minnie chose to look away as the subject was unwillingly changed. "… Um, about that…" Thankfully, there was a hard snort of gas and fire coming from outside, and she knew right away what vehicle had caused the noise. "I have to go, Granny! I'll explain later! Love you!" She quickly kissed her grandmother's cheek and fled outside before her name could be mistaken again.

It was day out, and the sunlight that managed to survive the foggy skies made the city look marginally clearer. That was how Minnie spotted the motorcycle waiting for her at the end of the porch, with the rider watching her walk towards him. The Alpha male of the wolves, Mickey, a strange but unusually charming half-creature in leather and a red kerchief around his neck – this was the fellow that the city was supposed to be terrified of, and yet he was perhaps one of the nicest people she'd ever met. Though Mickey smiled to see her, she didn't return the cheerful attitude right away. "Is there any way to make that… quieter?" She cautiously approached the motorcycle, trying to figure out how to get on without Mickey's help. "I still haven't told Granny about you, and if she sees this, she'll get scared for me!"

"Sounds like yer the scared one, Red." Mickey momentarily put down the kickstand, hopping off his Harley to give Minnie reluctant assistance. "Don't wanna tell yer Granny that yer gettin' help from big bad me?" He hoisted her by the hips to get on, and was rewarded by her faint cheek coloring again. Had she ever been touched by a boy? Had she ever even come into contact with one? He wanted to know so much about her, and merely asking and observing wasn't enough.

"She's afraid of wolves! Everyone in the city is!" She adjusted her delivery bag over her shoulder, aware that Mickey's hands were still on her for far longer than necessary but in no rush to move him just yet. "You should hear the stories they tell about your kind… and why do they say those stories anyway?" Given the fact that she was still alive after her encounter with so many wolves, she could say with confidence that every single story about them was wrong. So why did the stories exist in the first place?

"People are scared of everyone who's different." Mickey finally let her go, and began to climb back on his chopper. "We wolves have been here long before the towers went up… even before the Grimms arrived. But I don't care what people say about us. It's what we do that counts! Now hold on, Red, we're gunna do things that count!" The kickstand was off, the handles were gripped, and Minnie knew to grab onto his waist before the wheels sped into motion. "Now where we off ta?"

Minnie propped her chin on Mickey's shoulder so she could hear him better, oblivious to the fact that such big ears could be sensitive to such close contact. Any shuddering she felt from him she assumed was merely a side effect from riding the motorcycle. "Oh, you won't believe it! We get to deliver to a real celebrity! We're going to see Princess Daisy!"

There were only a few cars out on the street, and Mickey was blazing past all of them, startling every passenger that managed to catch a glimpse of him. "That diva? Yeah, I think I've heard her… and here I thought ya were a birdie all cooped up in yer cage, and last night was yer first night out."

"I've been out before!" Minnie pouted, not wanting to be thought of as a little girl again. "I've been to school, and I used to go shopping with my mother." That counted, right? Sure, there were gaps of months being cooped up inside, but that didn't mean she was a total recluse. Then again, who did she know to compare it to? She didn't have any friends during her period at school. "… Anyway, Granny and I listen to her all time on the radio. She has an absolutely beautiful voice! My second day as messenger, and I get to meet a famous singer! Isn't that exciting?"

"Ya don't get out much at all, do ya?" It wasn't a dig at her, as he rather looked forward to being the one who got to introduce her to the world. "So where's the missy at?"

"She's holding a concert today at the Golden Apple Stadium… my first concert!" She would have clicked her boots together in excitement if she didn't need to keep steady. "I'm doing so many firsts this week!"

Mickey bit back the urge to say that, technically, this could count as a first date as well.

* * *

The Golden Apple Stadium much resembled its title, glimmering from the outside and holding great talent within. It was mid-afternoon by the time the duo arrived, and after taking forever to find a parking spot, the two headed for the entrance. Muscled hired help were at every door, and one gorilla of a man stepped in front of the mice as they made their way over. "Show's sold out. No one's allowed in, so scram."

Mickey intervened before Minnie could get a word in, stepping forward and baring his fangs. "Hey! Treat the lil' lady a bit nicer, if ya wanna live ta hear the next song!"

"You wanna say that again, wolf?" The guard cracked his knuckles, ready to deal with the pipsqueak if pressed.

Minnie's naivety didn't blind her to the obvious fight that was going to ensue, so she quickly thrust her bag up in front of her, trying to grab a hold of the situation. "Wait, he's with me! I'm a Messenger, see? I've got the bag…" She held up her cape, "I've got the red riding hood," and then she opened the bag to show off the green magic marbles inside. "And I've got the messages! And I've got a message for Princess Daisy!" She dug into the bag, and held out the marble with Daisy's name etched in. "I know we didn't buy tickets, but this is very important! Could you please, please, please let us see her?" She held her hands together, hoping to convey a look of honest sincerity, and not realizing she was coming off as absolutely adorable.

The sheer cuteness of the mouse was a powerful force, as the guard couldn't stand to see her distressed any longer. "Okay, okay! I believe you, geez, enough with the eyes already! Look…" He dug within his suit, and pulled out two cards with gold lettering. "She's about to start the concert in a few minutes, and can't be disturbed. But these VIP passes will get you to see her after the show. So quit with the goo-goo eyes and get in!"

Minnie chirped a thank you as she took the pass, but Mickey wasn't ready to let the matter drop. "Hold on… ya just said the show was sold out!"

"It is, for wolves." The guard growled, opening the door behind him. "Got anything else to say, boy?"

"It's okay!" Minnie hurriedly stopped the fight before it began again, grabbing Mickey by the hand and dragging him inside. "He's a mouse!"

"Half-mouse!" Mickey barked as the door slammed behind them. He couldn't help but grumbled as they progressed further inside the stadium and neared the concert hall. "Listen, Red, I think yer forgettin' who's supposed ta be protectin' who over here. I coulda made that guy cry for his mama before this princess got her first note out. I ain't no shame about bein' a wolf!"

Minnie looked back at him before they reached the hall, blinking innocently. Her earnest expression, much like it affected the guard, easily affected Mickey. "So is there something wrong with being a mouse?"

Mickey promptly shut up.

* * *

The stadium was packed to the brim with fans already yelling, and the diva had yet to show up. Signs declaring their love for her were held up by thrilled hands, several fans had tried to dress up like their idol, and a chant of her name was thrown back and forth across the seats. The mice managed to find a pair of empty seats in the last row, but neither minded how far away they were. Minnie was simply happy to be there, and Mickey's sensitive hearing was grateful to be away from the noise. Since they had plenty of time to kill before seeing Daisy personally, he could use the opportunity to teach Minnie a few more firsts.

She was sitting calmly on the blue cushioned seat, kicking her feet back and forth in anticipation and completely unaware of how she was being analyzed by her friend. Mickey had never been on a date before – nor had he ever entertained the idea of going on one – but he had seen plenty of his pack members hook up enough so he felt he knew plenty about the subject matter. Wooing a potential mate would be easy for an Alpha Male. They were the strongest and most handsome, so he had been raised to believe, and he had gotten many offers from the female members of his pack. But none of those females could measure up the caged birdie that was all his.

He liked her, oh definitely. He had liked her since the first moment she had smacked him across the face with her bag. No one had ever shown him such defiance and bravery, and a rare opportunity like this couldn't go to waste. She was a delicate treasure that needed to be protected, and he could be her knight in shining leather. He would have to maneuver very carefully in order to woo her and not scare her off. The stadium lights were beginning to dim, and he took this as a chance. It was a prime opportunity for the old yawn-and-stretch!

He feigned a yawn, holding out his arms in a planned reach. Then with precision, he began to end his yawn as he moved his arm towards her shoulders, intending to pull her in and make her comfortable against his chest, and no doubt make her more used to his touch and embrace. Almost there, just a few inches more, and –

"_**HEEEEEELLLLLLOOOOOOO MY DARLINGS**_!"

Sweet merciful Mother Goose, what was that wretched sound?! Mickey howled as he grabbed his ears, almost expecting to find that someone had stuck a dagger in his ear cavity. The sound had actually come from the large speakers circling the stadium, and they had gotten their voice from the women that had appeared on stage mere seconds ago. Now that she had arrived, via a trap door from the bottom of the stage, the entire stage was lit with enough lights to blind everyone in the front row. With those lights, Mickey could see that the entire stage had been decorated to look like the insides of a fancy castle, save for the enormous video screen in the background that was focused entirely on the singer. Her name was being spelled out in fireworks near the rooftop, and her backup singers and instrument players were decked out in embarrassingly fluffy dresses that had sequins spelling out her name as well.

Princess Daisy was a world famous singer, actress, song writer, and duck that was as beautiful as she was narcissistic. Her golden dress sparkled under all the lights that highlighted her, as did the gold tiara around her flowing golden hair, along with golden high heels and golden earrings – how they were staying on when she had no ears was anyone's guess – and even her microphone shimmered with wasteful gold. She twirled the mike in her fingers – wearing golden nail polish, of course – and spoke once more to her adoring audience. "How much did you miss me, lovelies? Never fear, because your princess is here! Now, like, who's ready for some quality Daisy time? Cause I'm totally looking for my Prince Charming!"

The crowd hooted and hollered with positivity, save for Mickey who was still suffering. It may have been his heightened sense of hearing due to his wolf body, or the fact that this was probably the most annoying voice he had ever heard in his short lifetime. This was the chick Minnie was so eager to meet? He glanced at his companion, and to his misfortune, Minnie was as happy to see her as the rest of the crowd, clapping and cheering Daisy's name. Mickey rolled his eyes as his dreams of a date now turned into trying to survive with his hearing intact.

"Then let's get this party started, my loyal subjects! Hit it!" Daisy snapped her fingers to the musicians behind her, and with a pound of keys and strums of string, she began to belt out a classic. "_I'm the number one princess in the whole wide world, so make sure you know by heart how to treat me… Got it_!"

The crowd became impossibly louder as they clamored for their favorite song, and many even began to sing along as Daisy began to make demands within the lyrics. Mickey sighed, trying to find something to occupy his eyes besides the duck making ridiculous excuses for dance moves. He had only heard her songs a few times on the radio, and he had always barked at his subordinates to turn the garbage off. Since the option wasn't available here, he was in for hours of pain, and he'd need to find a way to keep himself distracted if he didn't want to go crazy.

As he scanned other rows of seats, he noticed unusual movement in the aisle across from him. An orange tabby cat had been roughly shoved aside by a figure Mickey couldn't make out, and then the cat had started incessantly scratching his ear. The puss stumbled out of his chair, wearing black boots that were probably two sizes too large, and began moving back and forth as he clutched his head in pain. Mickey lightly nudged Minnie to get her attention, and when she started to look over, the cat was growling darkly and grabbing an occupied seat. The patron hadn't noticed him – until the cat suddenly ripped the seat off the floor, and sent seat and sitter flying across the hall!

Now almost all eyes were on the cat instead of the duck, which incensed the latter greatly. "Hey!" Daisy stomped on her heel, glaring daggers at the one who dared to stop her show. "I'm trying to grace you peons with my perfect presence! The least you could do is, like, you know, sit down!"

The cat's lower jaw sloshed with drool, unable to form a coherent sentence. He then let out a scattered hiss, grabbing another seat and threw it on stage, missing Daisy by inches. Audience members began to flee in terror while the cat continued to rip up more seats, heading closer to the stage. There were a few loyal fans who tried to tackle the kitty, and earned a face full of sharp claws for their effort.

"He's heading for Daisy!" Minnie hopped out of her seat, already terrified and already moving against the crowd. While everyone else was heading for the exit, she was pushing past people to go toward the stage. "We've got to do something!"

"Get back here, Red!" Mickey made a futile grab for her, was he was easily pushed aside by those who needed to get out now. "That cat's crazy!"

Minnie was as scared now as she was facing the wolves, and the closer she got to the source of her fear, the more strength left her, leaving her ready to faint again if so deeply provoked. But she had survived the wolves! Messengers weren't supposed to faint! She could be afraid, but she would not allow it to stop her from fulfilling her duty! Mother never did, and so Minnie wouldn't.

The cat had begun tossing around lights and smashing the glass over the stage floor before lumbering towards Daisy, who finally understood that her orders weren't being heard. "Like, if you wanted an autograph, couldn't you have waited until after the show?!" She tried to make a run for it, but wound up tripping over her own exaggerated dress, and fell flat on her front. When she lifted her head, expecting help, she saw that her singers and musicians had dropped their instruments and abandoned the stage to save their own hides. She whimpered as she saw the cat's shadow beginning to loom over her, and she flimsily held out her microphone as a weak weapon. "This is so where my prince charming is supposed to come in, right?"

Instead of a prince on a white horse, she had to make do with a mouse in a red cape, as Minnie had hoisted herself in stage and run between the opposing forces. "H-h-hold it, you big bully!" Minnie stammered as she spread out her arms, using herself as a tiny shield to protect the superstar. "I'm supposed to give her a delivery, and I can't do that if you hurt her! So… so…" So, what? She hadn't quite thought this brilliant plan through. How exactly was a mouse that didn't come up the cat's stomach supposed to win this fight anyhow? "… So… I would really appreciate it you went away?"

Her adorable expression would do no good here. The cat yowled, and swung around his paws, not sure what he wanted to hit or why. He was at once both losing his balance but also dangerously moving forward, a crazed monster that only wanted to continue its line of disaster. But he wouldn't get any farther, as a pair of biker boots pounced onto his tabby tail. "Back off my girl!" Mickey snarled, and then lobbed a heavy punch to the cat's back. The cat responded with a roar that sounded more grotesque than feline, and he made a clawed attempt to get rid of Mickey's ears – instead, he managed to shove Mickey hard enough to roll him away a few inches.

Minnie knew she had only seconds for the cat to remember his target, and looked around for a solution. She spotted one of the guitars the musicians had dropped, and she ran to grab it. "I'll pay for this later, I promise!" She yelled to Daisy, who in her fright hadn't moved a centimeter. Minnie leapt back into the fray, and swung the guitar even harder than she had when had walloped Mickey, sending the cat reeling back on twisted toes.

The small alpha was tougher than he looked, and already back on his feet. As he saw the impressive defense – and found himself liking Minnie even more for it – he came up with a similar idea, and kicked off one of the drums of the abandoned drum set. "Hey Red, I knew we could make beautiful music together!" He used the other drums as a jumping point, and rammed the drum in his hands on top of the attacking cat. The enemy's head popped out the other end, and found his arms trapped by the rim. This binding, along with the blinding pain, caused the feline to tumble over, defeated.

Minnie sighed in relief as she dropped the glittery pink guitar, but as she recovered, she noticed something white sprinkling out of the cat's ear. The cat slapped its tongue across its mouth, and then began to speak, guttural and confused. "Owww… what's going on? Is the concert over already?"

"That's hardly an apology." Minnie walked over to the trapped cat, and knelt down to see what had fallen out.

"Apology? For what?" The puss in boots looked to each character for an answer before realizing what had happened to him. Unlike seconds ago, he was perfectly articulate, causing quizzical glances from the group. "And… does this mean I'm in the band now?"

Minnie found the white object – it was a delicate white feather. But when she tried to pick it up, it disintegrated in her fingers, leaving her even more befuddled. "What in the world…?"

"Oh my gosh!" Daisy was back on her heels, and had nearly tackled Minnie in a grateful hug. "That was so spectacular!" She rocked Minnie back and forth in her arms, causing the smaller one to become dizzy very quickly. "You guys are the best fans ever! Next time, tickets are definitely half-price for you! In fact, let's go get you some autographed head-shots! You more than deserve them!" Without hearing Minnie's objections, she held steadfast onto Minnie's arm and began to drag her away.

Mickey rubbed his nose. Something stank about this whole affair – literally. There was a gross sweaty smell that came with this cat, which made no sense as cats can't sweat. He gave another kick to the cat's backside before joining his girl, ignoring the cat's repeated questions about ticket refunds.

* * *

The police had come and arrested 'Mister Pussy Nigel Bootlicky', as he claimed he was called, but what the cat wouldn't claim was that he had done anything wrong. For the life of him, he couldn't remember causing anyone any harm. He had been enjoying the concert when a guy behind him had given him a shove, his ear began to itch, and then he couldn't remember anything until he found himself in the drum. The officers hadn't believed him, and our heroes had decided he was an obsessive fan who had gone over the edge.

Mickey and Minnie were dragged into Daisy's dressing room, where they couldn't guess the wallpaper as it was entirely covered in photographs of the singer. After Minnie found room between the bouquets and the gigantic vanity mirror, she managed to deliver her marble of a message. Mortimer Grimm was also inviting Daisy to the class reunion next month, but she could care less compared to all that had happened. Once the green glow was gone, Daisy grabbed Minnie by the hands and swung her arms around. "Oh, who cares about some boring reunion? You were a total knight! You're so much better than all that lousy security."

Minnie tried to keep up with the constant spinning, humbled by the heaps of praise. "I-it was nothing, Princess! I was just doing my duty as a Messenger!" Mickey was waiting at the door, wanting to get away from the source of his ear aggravation with his girl in tow.

"Messenger, is that it? Totally explains the stylish hood. I'm like, you know, so jealous!" Daisy grabbed at the knot around Minnie's neck to undo it. "Can I give it a try?"

"W-wait, Princess, please! Don't!" Minnie suddenly pushed Daisy's finicky fingers away, and clutched her hood close to her body. That even got a startled look from Mickey, and she ducked her head. "… I-It's my mother's, so…"

"Oooh, then just say so, girl!" Daisy held up her hands, as she meant no harm. "Totally got it. And after saving my life, you can so call me Daisy. But I still meant my jealousy. So jealous!" She overdramatically laid an arm on her forehead, and collapsed into a chair that reeked of her perfume. "I bet you meet guys out there all the time. Being a Messenger would totally help me achieve my dream!"

Minnie smoothed down her hood, but kept rapt attention to her idol's woe. "Your dream?"

Daisy turned over in her seat, capturing the essence of a woebegone damsel. "I know it looks like I totally have everything… perfect looks, a killer body, an angelic singing voice, millions of adoring fans, endless cash… but there's something I really need, more than anything in the world!"

"The ability ta stop usin' 'totally' in every sentence?" Mickey muttered under his breath, earning him a 'hush' from Minnie.

"A Prince Charming!" Daisy pushed herself out of her seat, and trotted over to a small closet. "What's a princess without her prince?" She removed her golden hair – a wig! – and set it back in place with all of its sisters in a row of other perfectly groomed follicles. Since this drama called for sadness, she chose black locks to adorn her head. "My life is so incomplete without a prince! Someone to sweep me off my high heels and give me a happily ever after! A guy who will treat me the way I deserve to be treated! Strong, handsome, and hopefully a Sagittarius! But I'll never find anyone like that while on stage! Isn't my life totally enough to make you cry? That's why I'm sooo jealooous!" She wailed on the extra o's, dabbing her mascara away with her extra long black hair.

"Th-there's nothing to cry about!" Minnie flailed, having lost complete control over how this encounter had gone. "I've only just started! Mickey's the one guy I've really met, and this is my second day of deliveries!"

Daisy paused in her melodrama, and since an idea was coming to her, that required a redhead switch. "You just started? … So that means you're on the brink of meeting guys! Oooh, let me come with you!"

Minnie couldn't think of a reply to that, but Mickey was instant, barging in on the conversation. "Aw Aurora no! This is a two-guy operation, and we ain't go no room for any bubble-headed popstars!" Bad enough to have that obnoxious voice following him along, but he'd never be able to put any moves on Minnie with extra company. "Ya ain't comin' with us! Tell her, Red!"

Minnie didn't get a chance to tell anyone anything as Daisy took over again, shaking Minnie's hands up and down in fervor. "Oh come ooon, it'll just be until I find my prince! And I won't be a bother at all! You won't even know I'm there! And you are so totally good at your job, you won't notice me! Just do like you did today, and we'll all be harmonious!"

"Like I did today?" Minnie found the tangent she considered the most important, eyes brightened as it related to her job. "So you're saying I completed the delivery and did a good job?"

"Like, above and beyond good!" Daisy nodded hard enough to almost drop her wig off of her head. "Just think of me as the background character!"

"Oh, I finished it!" Minnie broke off the compliments, facing Mickey as she remembered the deal. "Mickey, you know what that means!"

"It means she ain't comin!" Mickey huffed and puffed, arms crossed and refusing to move in his stubbornness. "Not by the hairs of my chinny chin ch-_mmph_!" How easily he had forgotten the deal he had set up. Since she had completed a successful delivery, he needed to be paid, and so she leaned up on her tippy-toes to give him her kiss of payment. Again, Mickey shut up.

Daisy stared at the odd exchange of affection until Minnie pulled back, leaving Mickey with a grin so positively goofy that he couldn't remember why he was so angry in the first place. It looked like he couldn't remember how to properly stand either, given how his legs were turning into jelly and he was starting to tilt over. "Wow." Daisy lightly elbowed Minnie, giggling under her words. "I never would have pegged you as having a thing for bad boys."

"A thing?" Minnie repeated quizzically, puzzled by Daisy's reaction. What thing? Did she mean the kiss? She would have asked Mickey, but he was unavailable for comment, and needed some help getting to stand up straight again. Minnie still had so much to learn.

* * *

"Well of course he didn't reach the target. I never agreed to this part of the plan in the first place. It was far too crowded."

The peeling of an apple. The hiss of a snake. The tapping of fingers to a desk.

"We'll just have to do the opposite next time. Outnumber the target in a smaller venue. Even you can get that right, can't you?"

The smell of fire.

"Tick tock, tick tock. Time's running out."

**End Of Chapter Two.**


	3. Glass Slippers

_Here's the next chapter, hope you all enjoy it! As always, major thanks to my major editor, Lies!_

* * *

_With their foe conquered, the maiden and the wolf rescued the beautiful princess. In return for their heroism, she offered her wealth and power, and joined them on their quest. Though the wolf did not care for the additional company, even he could not detect the smell of danger heading their way. The maiden continued onwards with her friends, never knowing that the trio had started to walk on a path of darkness…_

"Mickey, that wasn't very nice!"

"Hm? What?" Mickey asked, though he knew exactly what Minnie was referring to. The smog was heavier on this third day of working together than it had been yesterday, but he could still see well enough to drive through the startled traffic. Anyone who had started to roll down their windows to snap at him for his reckless speed quickly silenced themselves when they saw what was riding the chopper. He could admit he was going faster than usual, but he had a perfectly good reason behind burning so much rubber.

"We were supposed to wait for Daisy at my house!" Minnie chided as she held onto him, and even tried to give him a pinch under his arm for the trouble. "She wanted to come along with us, you know that!"

"Aw, we don't need some prissy princess wastin' our time. She's probably forgotten us by now!" So he hoped as he cut off another corner. Once they got the day's delivery over, Mickey could settle back into his hunt for Minnie's heart. Like any good predator, he needed to plan his strategy ahead of time. They would have the entire day to themselves once Minnie's job was done, and as long as Daisy didn't show, he would have her as his mate by the time the sun set. He had already told his pack that she would one day become their Mistress, as Mickey was the Boss, and they had encouraged his pursuit. They wanted him happy, and if this did it, then they would support him all the way. Then she would move in with him, and flee to his arms whenever she got scared, scratch his ears when he was a good boy, raise a litter with him –

"Mickey, you need to make a turn here!" Minnie pinched him again, wondering where his mind had vanished to, seeing as they were in the wrong lane. "Didn't you say you knew where the cobbler's shop was?"

"I got this, Red!" He'd have to tame his imagination later. If he wanted to have his happily ever after with Minnie, he'd have to focus on the job first. He revved up twice, and then sped forward, cutting a harsh turn in the right lane before, to Minnie's shock, using a car in front of him to bounce off and land in the next lane, popping a wheelie as he landed before landing fully and safely seconds later. Minnie had been so convinced she was going to fall off that she wrapped her legs around Mickey for extra measure, and Mickey decided he definitely needed to save that move again for later.

Wolves were selfish by nature, and Mickey hadn't been raised by the most proper of parents. If he wanted to get something, it was a matter of time, that was all. Yet he had to be delicate with his Minnie. She was a pretty doll, broken if the wrong points were pressed too hard. He would have her, but he had to do his wooing in carefully planned steps. He could only afford flights like this every once in a while, and then coast so she could settle and see that he was cool even under normal circumstances. He could have driven around normally, but that would have made him look boring. She needed to be impressed in order to want him.

Fortunately for the sake of Minnie's nerves, the rest of the trip was smooth sailing. He slowed down to a halt in front of their destination, but by now Minnie had adjusted enough to the rides that she was able to climb down by herself. He was a little disappointed, but supposed any boosts to her confidence were for the best. With one look at the cobbler's shop, Minnie knew today would be the exact opposite of her delivery yesterday. Instead of delivering to a famous superstar surrounded by hundreds of adoring fans and flashing lights, she felt she had walked back in time due to how old and dusty the shop appeared. It was the shortest building on the block, and only a few inches bigger than Minnie's own wooden home. The name "Foot Fun" that was once painted with brilliant colors was now faded, and the door was hanging on with lopsided hinges. The windows were boarded up, and the smell of dust made Mickey sneeze as he approached the old store.

"I don't think anyone's here." Minnie frowned as she spotted the 'closed' sign hanging by a single thread on the doorway. There may have been a shift of movement off in the distance, but she couldn't be sure. While she did want to do her job, she didn't want to be a bother either. "Maybe we should try again later."

Huff and puff, no way! That could possibly interrupt his date later on! Not on Mickey's watch! "I can hear someone in there." He pointed to his big ears, and grabbed the doorknob. "Can't give up so easily, Red. C'mon." The door had other ideas, as the knob popped off in his hand. He grunted, and then decided to go the simplest way. He kicked the door open, nearly destroying the last hinges.

"Can't you read the sign?!" A loud, angry voice squawked at them from the back of the store. The inside was even dustier than the outside, much the chagrin of Mickey's nose. There were rows and rows of shelves with forgotten shoes, and the ground was littered with abandoned tools. Minnie timidly stepped in as the duck owner stomped out of a back room, slamming the door behind him and making his way to the front desk. Minnie thought she wouldn't be able to understand him, given that he was rolling a nail in his beak, but he was articulate enough in his anger. "First off, we're closed! Second off, I don't see anyone unless they ring the bell!" He gestured to a silver bell that stuck to the desk, and then crossed his arms. "Got it?"

Minnie hesitated, and then tapped the bell once. Her sheepish grin was met with a glare from the owner. He couldn't have been too much older than Mickey, yet he towered over her with his ill personality. His clothes were hand-stitched and worn down, and the fabric had been ripped and replaced so many times that he was possibly wearing a mixture of ten different outfits at once. But they all carried the same theme of dull brown, including the withered cap that almost seemed to be held up by his always angry eyebrows. His jacket was dirty brown, his shirt was dirty tan, and his glower was as dirty as one could get. "I'm gunna go ahead and pretend I didn't hear anything. Besides..." he leaned over to check their shoes, clicking his tongue to his top bill. "Your shoes don't even need to be repaired! So make like Hansel and Gretel and get lost!"

"Watch how ya talk ta my lady, duck!" Mickey pounded a fist on the desk – and found it going right through the decrypt piece of furniture. It didn't hurt, but it wasn't pleasant either."… If I sneeze in here, is this whole place gunna collapse? Cause I think I need a tissue."

"We're not customers." Minnie took head of the conversation as Mickey tried to yank his arm free. "But I'm a Messenger, and I'm here to-"

"Not interested." The duck turned his back towards them, intending to head to the back room.

Not interested? Minnie looked at Mickey, but was busy still trying to free himself while swearing like a sailor. For now, she was on her own. "… W-well, whether you're interested or not, I have a job to do!" Scary wolves? No problem. Killer cats? Beaten. So she was hardly going to let a stubborn duck stop her from her mission. She climbed over the desk and jumped on the floor, before running in front of Donald and holding out her arms as far as she could to block him from going any further. "So you just sit down and listen to it! … Please!"

The owner was unmoved by her confidence or by the cuteness that had made others surrender. "Life's full of disappointments, kid. I had a job to do too, but do you see any actual customers here?" He waved to the left and right, emphasizing the vast emptiness of his shop. No one had been there for months, or perhaps even longer. "My family used to have lines going for miles in order for someone to get their shoes shined! But these days, everything is done by machine or magic. People abandoned their shoes and never picked them up. Why get anything fixed when you can buy something new instead? So if the world doesn't want me, then I don't want the world. Move it." But when he tried to move to the left, so did Minnie. When he moved to the right, so did she. He added extra oomph to his glare, but while Minnie was obviously intimidated, she still wouldn't obey him. He rolled his eyes, and glanced back at Mickey. "Can you just pick up your sister and get outta here already?"

"She ain't my sister!" Mickey barked, nearly freed as he began using all of his limbs as leverage. "She's my-" Whatever she was and wasn't would have to wait, as he suddenly got his arm released, but the force of his freedom caused him to stumble backwards, knocking a shelf over, which knocked over another, and another, and it took seconds for all the shelves to meet the floor. "… Don't suppose a 'sorry' would do much here?" He at least offered an embarrassed look of apology.

The duck ground his bill together hard enough that Minnie thought the nail sticking out of his beak would bend. He rolled up his sleeves, determined to have his way by temper or by force, whichever these rascals found worse. "You wolves can't go anywhere without causing a wreck, can you?"

"Hey, that had nothin' ta do with me bein' a wolf!" Mickey held up a fist full of splinters, ready to take on the fight if he was so challenged. Minnie's target or not, no one was allowed to freely insult his race like that! "That was just me bein' a klutz! Not all wolves are like me!"

"I don't care what you mangy mutts are like!" The owner wasn't backing down either, picking up a hammer from the array of discarded tools. "Get out, all of you! I'm not seeing anyone, anytime, anywhere! And that's final!"

Woe to those who ever think "This can't get any worse", as Mickey did, and as always, of course it did. The grating voice he had already grown to loathe reached his ears. "OOOOOH MYYYY GOOOOSH! You, Mickey, are rude with a capital R-U-D-E! Ru-DAH!"

Princess Daisy now stood in the remains of the doorway, bright pink with a bright pout. Today's style was all about pink, from the impossibly short skirt and thin top she was sporting to the cotton candy reminiscent wig that wrapped around her head. Her accessories also came with this eyesore, seeing as her tiara was pink, her sunglasses were pink, and the purse hanging off her arm was pink enough to drive pigs to envy. The harsh colors made her almost painful to look at, though that could have easily been Mickey's bratty bias. "I had my limo driver searching for, like, ever to find that ugly motorcycle of yours! You are so totally rude! How does Minnie darling even, like, stand you?"

Minnie chirped a greeting while Mickey growled at the insult to his ride, but the owner was easily the happiest out of this group. He didn't know who this divine fairy was that had suddenly entered his life, but he was already enchanted, and he tossed the hammer aside to get to his front desk faster. Ignoring Mickey's howl, as the hammer happened to land on his foot, the owner rang the bell for his new customer. "Well hello there, ma'am!" In the span of a one moment, he had lost every ounce of hostile behavior and was the nicest fellow on the block. The prettier the girl, the better attention he gave, as even he wasn't as rude to Minnie as he was to Mickey. "Welcome to Foot Fun! My name is Donald Duck, and please tell me I can help you." He leaned over his desk again to catch a glimpse of perfectly pink high heels.

"Aw, that is like, majorly sweet." Daisy was used to instant adoration, given the number of fans she had, so she took his swooning eyes as completely normal and therefore not very important. She held up her sunglasses, looking for her new best friend. "Oh, there you are, Mins! Puh-leeeeeeze tell me I didn't miss anything?" She merrily skipped over to Minnie's side, giving her arm a hug and a tug. "Did I? Oh, tell me I totally didn't!"

"Actually…" Minnie slowly trailed her eyes over to Donald, who had begun realizing how much trouble he could land in if he didn't do some serious boot kissing. "He said he didn't-"

"But a guy can change his mind!" Donald interrupted swiftly, laughing nervously and rubbing his hands together as all the eyes bore into him. "I'd love to hear the message! And then, free shoe inspections for all! Whaddya say, ladies?"

"I say ya change pretty easily for a pair of eyelashes." Mickey smirked all knowingly at the other boy, though he knew he had no right to mock a man for a man with the same problems. What an unusual place to find a brother-in-arms.

Minnie offered Daisy a quick smile of gratitude for her accidental aid, and then took out the day's marble. With one swallow, she took on the green glow once more and this time became the elder Grimm, Pete. "Greetin's and salutations, mister… uh…" 'He' paused for the right name, moving slavishly around as if Minnie had suddenly gained an extra one hundred pounds. "Dennis? What… oh, right, Donald! Donald Duck! Gya ha ha, I knew I'd get it right!" One hand was propped up, waving a nonexistent cigar around. "Cause smart guys like us, we came from the same school! And school's what I'm here about!" It was a third invitation to the school reunion that would be held in now less than a month's time.

Donald wasn't paying any attention to the invitation to the school reunion, and was watching Daisy with vast interest. Daisy wasn't paying any attention to her newest fan, and was watching Mickey with curiosity. When Minnie had delivered the Grimm's message in Daisy's dressing room, Mickey sported the same grimace. It was full of loathing, and gave Daisy chills as she studied it. "Hey, what's with the major frown?" She poked the edge of his mouth. "I thought you were, like, Minnie's knight. How come you get all 'huff 'n' puff' when she does this?"

"It ain't Minnie." Mickey watched his girl as she continued speaking under Pete's influence, as the Grimm had gone into naming other attendees of the reunion in order to entice Donald to come. "It's the Grimms. I can't stand 'em." Even the way he said Grimm carried acid with it. Mickey was normally rude on the outside anyway, but this was something far deeper and far worse. This was actual hate.

"The Grimm Brothers? Like, why?" Daisy scratched her head, causing her wig to tilt. "I never met them, but, like, aren't they the whole reason this city just, like, you know, is? Once they took over after Mother Goose, they gave this city a mondo makeover."

"The Grimms are responsible for a lotta things…" Mickey muttered darkly, fists clenching and popping out a few splinters. "… And they're the reason why everyone hates wolves."

Any further inquiries by Daisy were paused, as the glow ended, and thus so did the message. Minnie exhaled deeply once the power left her, and was refilled with her own positive spirit. "Another job well done!" She was completely ignorant of Mickey's behavior during the messages, and for all appearances he was normal now that she was. "I think I'm getting better at this!"

"Then it's my turn to keep my end of the bargain." Donald knew one of the fastest ways to a woman's heart was to treat her friends kindly, so it was time to give Minnie the royal treatment, or at least his equivalent. "One free shoe inspection, comin' up!" He gave Minnie a light shove to plop her in a creaky chair, and then got down on his knees to hold up her boot. Mickey set up a growl in case Donald dared to sneak a peek up Minnie's skirt, but Mickey's perversions only laid with the wolf, as Donald's eyes stuck to the boot. "Let's see what we got here…"

"Whoa, Donald, hold up!" Daisy got behind Donald to yank at his shoulders, perhaps aware of the effect having her fingers pressed against him would do, along with pressing her chest into the back of his head. "Mins has, like, got big issues with touching her clothes! That's a really negative no, you know!"

"Oh, no, Daisy, it's okay!" Minnie held up her brown boot, not minding the touch-up. If Donald was offering, it would be rude to say no. "I don't mind. My boots are mine… but my red riding hood belonged to my mother, when she was a messenger." She held up her cape, wringing it gently with her fingers. Now that Mickey was actually paying attention to it, he could see that the cloth didn't have a single stain or a thread out of place. This was the work of someone who cared for it every day, probably cleaning it by hand and tending to it carefully. "Every messenger is given a hood as part of their uniform, along with the bag… but I asked if I could use my mother's hood, and there wasn't a problem."

Mickey leaned against the chair, calming down now that Minnie was herself and nobody else, and that Donald only cared about the boots and nothing else. "Yer tellin' us that there were two cute girls this small?"He flashed what he believed was a winning smile, complete with sharp teeth. "I don't believe it."

Minnie wrung her cape tighter at the compliment, and cast her eyes down. Mickey's words could be as sharp as fangs when speaking to others, but when it came to her, he spoke softly as silk. What had she done to deserve such special treatment? She had been praised before, by her family and by teachers in school, but like everything about him, the way he complimented her was vastly different. If she wasn't in the company of others, she may have tried to hide her face in the comforts of her hood. He was both frightening and exciting in the differences he showed her. Her fingers fidgeted as she tried to remain on track. "She… she made me want to become a messenger. I'd wait for her with Granny every night, and when she came home, she'd have the most amazing stories to tell me. She was always so brave, and she always managed to deliver every message, without fail. She never backed down from anyone, and took really good care of me and Granny. I always knew I wanted to be like her when I grew up." Even Donald had started to listen, as he weaved in new shoelaces for her boots. "Even when she got really sick two years ago, she never looked like she was afraid. I promised her I'd take up her hood and provide for us. Whenever I get in trouble, I try to think of what she would do. And with this hood… it's like she's always with me. That way I never feel lonely, and I know I can do my job, no matter what happens."

"THAT'S SO TOTALLY PRECIOUS!" Daisy wailed, yanking a tissue out of her purse and dabbing her wet eyes with it. "I'm so ruining my mascara, but I don't care! Mins, you are, so, you know, my hero!" What a tragic tale! What a heart-breaking story! It was almost as bad as Daisy's lack of a prince!

Despite Daisy's shrieking sobs, Mickey too found himself moved by Minnie's past. She was such a beautiful bird that had longed to escape her sad cage, and it was taking every fiber of his being not to grab her and console her. His poor, precious mate! He would definitely give her a good life! He rubbed his eyes with the back of his sleeve before anything dared to appear. Donald had to hide his face for a good minute before he felt ready to look at anyone again. Minnie was clueless as to why everyone was suddenly so prone to tears. She'd merely explained her hood and her life. Was she really that pitiable? It didn't sit well with her, but she couldn't tell them how to feel. "… Well, goodness, I didn't mean to make anyone cry…"

"I'm not cryin'!" Both males objected vehemently, despite evidence to the contrary.

Daisy blew her bill into her tissue, but she noticed shadows moving along the floor that didn't belong to the four of them. "Oh, hey, Donald, I think you've got some customers!"

The door finally fell off with the arrival of a pudgy human in clean white clothing holding a rolling pin, topped with a chef's hat on his balding head. He fell face first onto the floor – and then two other men fell on top of him, the second one wearing a gray apron and wielding a knife, while the third was thinner than a stick and carrying a broken yet lit candelabrum. Donald stood up to see the strange mess, pushing his hat up. "… A butcher, a baker, and a candlestick maker. What, is my shop gettin' all the weirdos today?"

No sooner had he insulted them then they started getting up, moaning incoherently with slack jaws and lines of spittle leaving their chins. It was a startling resemblance to the cat in Daisy's concert – and the resemblance turned deeper as the butcher let out an unhealthy bellow and took a swing at Donald's neck with his knife! Donald yelped and backed up, grabbing his whole neck. "I-I meant weirdos in the best way, of course!"

This wouldn't satisfy the trio of unruly humans, all three of whom were scratching their ears incessantly. The baker began to flip the desk over, while the candlestick maker launched himself at Daisy, trying to burn her with the lit candelabrum. She screamed, but Mickey pushed her out of the way before she could get scorched. He took her guard, and lobbied a punch full of splinters to the candle man's chin, sending him spiraling. "I don't think they're here for autographs! This place got a back door?"

"It only leads to a closet!" Donald scrambled to get away from his attackers, but there was little room in the shop to make a decent get away. For every time he tried to avoid one villain, he ran into another, as they tore up the turned over shelves and smashed the boarded windows. "This is not how I wanted to retire!"

The three bizarre attackers only spoke in roars and rage, swinging their weapons around and often missing their targets. Minnie stood up in her chair as she noted that like the cat, they were more crazed and destructive than having any kind of plan in mind. Her friends old and new were getting backed into corners, and the store was suffering every slight. "They're going to ruin the entire shop! We outnumber them, can't we stop them?"

"Totally!" Daisy yanked out a microphone from her purse, complete with an extremely long wire. They had dared to strike down the princess of Grimm City? Her pride was a more forceful weapon than her fear. "I'm always prepared for a performance! And this one will knock them off their feet!" She whipped the wire around like a lasso, throwing it forward and having it loop around the baker's leg, just as he had been ready to smash Donald's skull with his rolling pin. She yanked it forward, causing the lummox to fall forward with a mighty thud.

"One down!" Donald wasn't going to miss a chance to impress his new sweetie and save his skin at the same time. He spat out his nail, pinning down the baker's left sleeve to the floor. After dodging a blow from the candle stick maker, he scooped up two handfuls of nails from the pile of rusty tools, and only needed one throw to aim the nails into both sleeves to keep the baker pinned down. There was a "Nailed him" pun in there somewhere but this was already turning into a far too punny fight.

Mickey dealt three rapid punches to the butcher before getting an idea, and rolled on the floor until he knelt in front of Minnie, who was still in the chair, and Mickey held out his hands towards her, one hand under the other. "Need a lift, Red?"

How quickly they had understood each other so mutually, and only in the span of a few days time! Without any help or even a second thought, she nodded once and stepped out onto his open hands. Like a spring, Mickey thrust his hands up, flipping Minnie in the air so she could land a hard and heavy kick to the candle stick maker's head, sending him down for the count. Now there was only one opponent left, and all four brought him down – Daisy whipped out her wire of a lasso to capture his legs, Mickey and Minnie shared a combined kick to his shins, and as he fell, Donald wasted no time to nail him down. He even sat down on the defeated enemy's back once he was sure he won. "There's no way my insurance is gunna cover this." He lamented as he looked around the ruins of his shop. Even if he ever did have customers again, there was no place to hold their shoes, and his place was in complete shambles.

The trio groaned in an unsettling unison, and Minnie gasped to see the same white flicker leave their ears. Hadn't she seen that before? "Hold on…" She knelt down by the butcher to pick up the flicker, and exactly as before, she held a white feather in her hands before it disintegrated in her palm. "… This happened yesterday too!"

More replicas from the day appeared as speech became capable in the pained men. The butcher spoke first, eyes swirling around in dizziness. "Ow… w-where am I?" He looked left and right, befuddled by everything and everyone around him. "Jack? John? What's going on?"

"I dunno, James…" The baker tried to pull up his arms, and was surprised to find himself nailed. "… I dunno anything! Weren't we supposed to be getting lunch?"

The maker of candles was equally confused. "Yeah! We were supposed to have lunch at the tavern and talk about entering the tub-making business… but then… I forget. This can't be the tavern, it's way too dirty!"

"Dirty!" Donald grabbed last man's nose, twisting it around. "First you destroy my store, and then you call it dirty? Why, you doggone stubborn little…"

Minnie tried a kinder approach as she walked up to the baker, squatting down to try and pry the nails out. "Do you really not remember coming in here?"

"I swear by Mother Goose, I've never been in here in my life!" The baker pleaded, and Minnie could not doubt his sincerity. He was genuinely frightened by his lack of memory, and this was similarly reflected in his friends. "We were heading to the tavern for a bite, and then… I felt something dig into my ear… and that's it! Listen to my stomach, it's growling, I haven't had a bite to eat yet!"

"Totally strange." Daisy began to unwrap her microphone, taking care not to touch any speck of dust. "That's what the crazy cat said too. Something about his ear, but then he totally forgot everything."

Mickey and Minnie matched eyes, and understood they were on the verge of something horrendous. Once was odd, but twice was far more than coincidence. Yet no matter how much they tried to convince Donald about it, he still called the police and had the three men hauled off. They watched the police car drive off, and as Mickey heard the sirens fate, he noted that three men had also carried the same greasy, sweaty smell as the cat had. There was no ignoring the pile of similarities, and he was sure to never forget this smell.

Except then Minnie remembered her deal with Mickey, and he promptly forgot everything when he was suddenly kissed. Now there was a repeat that needed to happen more often.

* * *

"Failures! All of you, failures! Get outta my sight!"

A clattering of feet. Doors shut. Three flickers of a lighter before the flame comes on.

"Maybe now we can try things my way?"

He offers her one. She declines.

"Tick tock, tick tock. Do as you please. I know what to do when it's my time."

**End of Chapter Three.**


	4. Pig's Heart

_Hope you enjoy this chapter! As always, major thanks to my major editor, Lies!_

* * *

_With the help of the noble cobbler, the maiden, the wolf, and the princess defeated their foes once again. Now none of them could ignore the looming shadow that darkened the path ahead of them. Yet the maiden never lost her resolve, and she continued forward in their journey. The group, now even bigger, followed her to their next destination. Prepare as they might, none of them were ready to face the next challenge…_

Minnie did her best to be patient as she waited atop Mickey's motorcycle for him to return from the rickety apartment where he and his pack lived. He had promised they would get to work right after he did a small errand, and so Minnie was waiting for whatever that errand could be to finish up. She was a little grateful that Mickey had told her to stay there instead of going in with him. While she trusted him more with each passing day, even if this was only day four of getting to know him, the rest of his pack was a different matter. She was wary of them, and she didn't imagine they cared for her either.

The front door opened, and Minnie held her breath because Mickey was joined by a male and female from the pack. Mickey was still barking orders as he stepped out, waving a hand as he dictated. "… And that goes for everyone. I don't wanna find anyone slackin' off. I want a report from everyone by the time I get back. Capiche?"

"Understood, Alpha!" Both saluted at the command, before noticing Minnie was there. She leaned back as far as she could without falling, expecting snarls and glares for the girl who had gotten them in trouble with their leader.

Instead, the male sped up to her and grabbed her gloved hands, shaking them enthusiastically. "It's good to see you, Missus! Thank you for treatin' our Alpha so well! No hard feelin's?"

"Course not, course not!" The female was as chipper as her counterpart, peeking over his shoulders and chummily waving to Minnie. "Not when she's gunna be our new Pack Mama! And I can tell she's got the hips for it! I betcha we'll have three litters-"

"Get movin' already!" Mickey suddenly and violently interrupted the conversation, turning bright red as he delivered a swift kick to the male's shin. The two apologized profusely, running off and down the block with their tails between their legs. He cleared his throat and adjusted his cap, doing his darndest to act like he hadn't been embarrassed. "… Just forget what they said, okay?"

"… Okay?" It was easy for Minnie given the fact she had no idea what they were talking about. She could sense Mickey wanted a change of subject and provided him with one. "I'm still surprised they let you order them around… I know you said you're the Alpha, but some of them are three times your size."

"Size and strength got nothin' ta do with it." He could prolong the job a little longer if that meant he got to brag to his girl. As such, his chest was puffed out, and he gestured grandly as he spoke of his proud heritage and family line. "My old lady was the Alpha, and her old man was the Alpha, and on and on. If yer the blood of an Alpha, yer the next Alpha! And anyone who doesn't like it, they can challenge the Alpha… and get the snot beaten outta them!" Though no one had ever challenged him for the role, he tried to have Minnie think otherwise, flexing his arm muscles.

Minnie didn't notice the display, as she was distracted by questions. "And you're half mouse, half wolf… So your mother was the wolf, and your father was the mouse?"

"Yer a smart cookie, Red." With no obnoxious ducks in sight, maybe he'd have a chance to nibble his dessert. "Ma wanted him, and told the pack that she was gunna have him, and anyone who objected could try ta take her place as Alpha. Then she beat the crud out of 'em all!" He grinned from ear to ear, and while Minnie didn't think violence was anything to glorify, she certainly knew about motherly worship, and returned the smile. Out of all things to have in common, who would have guessed that they both respected their mothers to such high degrees?

"See, that's what a good mate does." Mickey continued, making his way to Minnie but not making any moves to get on his bike. "They protect the one they want, and fight for 'em, no matter what. Ya know how ya can tell ya got a good mate?"

"No." Minnie answered sincerely, getting that funny feeling in her stomach and chest again. His presence sometimes created a feeling of being ill, but not in a way that was unpleasant. It was more like being high on a fever, and with him this close, and saying these things, her fever was rapidly escalating. Her fingers curled up in her hood for a way to calm down, but even that was lost when his hand gently came to rest on top of hers. She didn't know why she asked, "How can you tell?"

"Well." His other hand was neatly tucked under her neck, with his thumb on her chin. "They might say somethin' like… What big eyes ya have, R-"

_**HONK HONK HONK HONK HONK HONK HONK HONNNNNNNK!**_

It was no coincidence that the horn from Daisy's limo was as irritating to Mickey as her voice. If looks could kill, than Mickey would have been accused of Daisy's murder as she stepped out of the stretched silver vehicle, which matched her silver attire for the day. "Sooo sorry that we're late, Mins!"

"I'll give ya somethin' ta be sorry over, ya big-" Mickey's growling jaw was shoved shut by Minnie, who knew little of romance but by now was becoming an expert on his temper.

She turned around in her seat to greet Daisy, who was showing off silver sandals, a silver wig in a bob cut style, a silver purse, and silver sunglasses on top of her beak. After Minnie's hello, she picked up on the extra word. "We're? What do you mean, 'we're' late?"

"Like, me and Donald!" Daisy jabbed a thumb behind her, and sure enough the cobbler was stepping out, with a heavy brand of headphones on his shoulders. He looked dizzy as one hand was placed on his temple, and there was faint noise coming from his headphones. Minnie recognized it as one of Daisy's hits. "I felt so, you know, bad after those goons totally trashed his place, so I invited him to join our group! Maybe he can find a new place to work while I, like, find my prince charming!"

"Just great." Mickey began to climb on his motorcycle, clearly displeased with this turn of events. "Why don't we pick up a cowardly lion and a tin man while we're at it?" Was it so much to ask for alone time with the girl of his dreams?

"Actually, I think the extra help would do us some good." Minnie lifted one leg over the other as she thought out loud. "After what happened at Donald's shop and Daisy's concert, who's to say something like that won't happen again? Both times people were out of control after someone gave them a push, they kept scratching their ears, and then when they were knocked on the head, a white feather came out and they couldn't remember the attacks. Something that strange can't be a coincidence when it happens more that once."

"Mins is, like, right on! And you know what?" Daisy leaned in, with a hand cupped to her beak, whispering despite it being early morning with hardly anyone out and about. "When you two left, I found out something even stranger!"

Mickey's attention was snagged, and he and Minnie cautiously looked to the diva. What vital clue had they missed?

"The strangest thing of it all is…" Daisy then grabbed Donald by the arm, and pushed him in front of him. "This guy has never heard of me before! Can you believe it?! Someone in this city who doesn't know, like, anything about me!"

"Oh for cryin' out loud!" Mickey slapped a hand to his forehead, while Minnie awkwardly looked back and forth between the group, unsure of how to properly react.

Donald sheepishly shrugged, his ear canals still ringing from the headphones. "I… I don't get out much! I don't even own a radio!"

"Which is why I've had him listening to all of my top singles on the ride over!" Daisy slapped Donald hard on the back, almost making him fall over. "He's made me see the light! If someone like him has never heard of me, there might be others too! I'll never find my Prince Charming if I don't make sure everyone in this city knows my name! That's why I totally need to tag along for every delivery! I'll spread my name wherever we go, and then my Prince Charming will come to me! It's, like, for the good of all, you know! The good of romance! I need to connect with the commoners! I need to get to the nitty-gritty of those who aren't nobility! I need to…" She trailed off as she saw her captive audience, Mickey and Minnie, were gone.

"He drove off with her two minutes ago." Donald answered the unasked question.

* * *

Despite Mickey's best efforts, the ducks caught up with him. For the next delivery, though, they both had to leave their vehicles behind when they saw they would have to enter the forest. Grimm City was originally one large forest, but now the buildings towered over the trees, and more of them were cut down every year. Only a small portion of it existed now, thanks to those that had stubbornly refused to leave their homes.

"I'm surprised you and your pack don't live here." Donald commented as the group of four made their way through the grass. "For all your complaining about the Grimm Brothers, you could have stayed here and not lived alongside the buildings."

"This is hardly a place ta live either, thanks ta 'em." Mickey had his hands deep in his jacket, and kicked a nearby tree to prove his point. The tree almost seemed to shudder, and fistfuls of leaves began to droop down to the ground. "See? The smoke and smog from all those buildin's are killin' the plants. No plants means no food. So we either stay here ta starve, or go with the buildin's ta get a bed rep. We don't really win either way."

This was Minnie's first time in the forest, yet even she found herself agreeing with Mickey about the condition of the trees. It wasn't fall, yet the leaves and grass took on unhealthy hues of brown, easily crackling under their footsteps. Plants needed air as much as people did, and they were both choking day by day. Had things always been this way, from Minnie's naïve days cooped up in her home? Was there a time when the sun could shine bright, and the trees were green, as described in the stacks of books at school? But surely the Grimm Brothers didn't mean for this much decay. They were trying to improve the quality of life for everyone. That was what everyone had been taught.

"So, like, your rep." Daisy was taking very careful and very slow steps, wincing every time she thought her shoes were getting dirty. "You totally told me that it was the Grimm Brother's fault you guys have such a bad one."

"Course it is!" Mickey swung his fist around, as if wishing one of the brothers as there to be his punching bag. "They support all the good businesses, they're behind almost every buildin'… They tell the higher-ups bad things about wolves, and the high tells the low, and then the word's spreadin' like wild fire. But not a one of ya ever even met a wolf until ya met me! It's all word of a word of a word!"

"The Brothers never supported my business." Donald mused, still keeping the headphones since it was sure to garner Daisy's attention towards him. "But that might be because I wouldn't catch up with their magic and technology. And everyone I ever heard bad things about wolves from never met one either. It was always a cousin telling a friend telling a neighbor… maybe you're on to something." He stuck a nail from his pocket into his mouth again, rolling it around as he asked. "So… is it true that wolves steal from every store in the city?"

"No way!" Mickey held his head up high, leading them despite having no idea where the customer's house was. Minnie stayed by his side to guide him without making him lose his pride. "Wolves pay for everythin'! I worked myself ta the bone ta afford my ride!"

"So…" Daisy joined in the investigation, while wondering if she could goad one of her friends into carrying her. "Is it true that wolves kidnap anyone who's alone, like, at night?"

"No way!" Mickey repeated, feeling good that he could educate others about the real lives of his pack. "We just give people a lil' scare so they'll leave us alone! Ain't nothin' wrong with wantin' some peace and quiet!"

Minnie wanted to join in, taking in an inquiry she had once heard from Granny during her many warnings. "So, is it true that wolves go crazy during the full moon?"

"No w-w-well…" Mickey switched out the word when he realized exactly what had been asked, and his pride plummeted as he found one he couldn't deny. "… Not… crazy, but, uh… see… We become a bit more in tune with magic… And, uh…" Were it only Donald and Daisy in his presence, he would have answered easily, but he wanted to paint a good impression on Minnie. Sadly, his behavior during the full moon left him with ugly colors to paint with. Minnie couldn't figure out why he wouldn't look her in the eyes. "… Look, when it comes… we'll just have ta miss each other for the time, okay? I ain't… exactly… gunna be that… nice…"

Donald snorted, laughing as his nail rolled back and forth. "You mean you can actually hound that kid more than you do now? Heh heh heh! See, Minnie, I think what he means is_ss_ _WAAAAAUUUUUUGH_!" His adult explanation was blindsided as he was whipped up in the air, ensnared in a tight rope net that hung him from a tree branch. "What's the big idea?!"

Mickey doubted karma worked that quickly, and immediately grabbed Minnie close. "We're under attack already? We gotta move!"

Daisy's scream signaled that moving was too late. An iron contraption had seized up from the ground, holding her ankle down. "Oooh, this is totally awful! I just bought this dress! Lemme go!"

Mickey couldn't smell the same greasy sweaty stench that had come from the others, so what was going on? He heard a whipping noise, and held Minnie even tighter to his body. "I'll protect ya, Red!" What had been a very noble act quickly turned into a very embarrassing one, as criss-cross lines of rope bolted up from the ground, pushing Mickey face down, and kept him on top of Minnie in the grass and dirt. He couldn't budge, nor could Minnie, though they could blush very deeply from their awkward position. "… Oops."

"Oh, sure, you two get the fun one!" Donald snapped from the net, trying to use his nail to cut through the trap. All four struggled and writhed in their traps, unable to pull free, and Minnie found her fever at the highest pitch it had ever been. As they all fought and yelled, new footsteps came in, and though for some it was difficult to manage, they could all see the man who had entered the chaotic scene.

This wasn't a slack-jawed, drooling, insane individual who wanted to destroy everything in his path. Instead they got a very tall and very lanky dog who was in control of his senses, such as tapping his foot to the ground in disappointment. "Ya'll just never learn, do ya?" His shaggy clothes were red and black, and a few fallen leaves hung off of his belt, which was adorned in spikes and small knives. The fur on his vest could have been real or fake, no one was in the mood to ask, and the sound of several holsters jingled for every step he made in his spiked boots. The thing about him that got the most attention wasn't him at all, but at the hunting rifle that was nearly as tall as he was, and he carried it over his shoulder like it was as natural as any other body part. "I said it once, and I'll say it a million times 'til ya'll get it in yer heads! I quit! Q-U-I-T!" He emphasized the spelling the poking Donald with the end of his rifle for every letter. "Ya can just tell yer bosses ta deal with her problems in a better way! I ain't goin after anymore stepdaughters!"

"What are you, like, talking about?" Daisy put her hands on her hips, catching the dog's attention. "We don't have bosses, and we don't have stepdaughters! … Why, do I look old enough to have a kid?" She began to run her hands over her face, panicked. "Do I have wrinkles?!"

The dog blinked a few times to make sure his vision was correct, and he swung his rifle around as he walked toward Daisy, accidentally smacking Donald around with his weapon. "Hey, ain'tcha that famous singer lady? Princess Daffodil?"

"Daisy!" She crossed her arms, though she was glad that her name managed to reach the outskirts. "And these are my groupies!"

"Like huff-puff we are!" Mickey snarled, and Donald supposed it was a step-up from a complete stranger. Minnie was unavailable for comment, given that funny feelings that coursing through her body were starting to intensify. She was hardly aware a conversation was even being had, as she shut her eyes tight and tried to mentally force her heart to slow down.

The dog scratched his head, trying to understand the grave error he had made. "Gee… then none of ya are here for mah services?"

"I don't even know what your services are!" Daisy managed to gain control of her narcissism for the time being, hard as it was. "Why did you set all these traps for us? Like, we're here to deliver a message, that's all!"

"A message?" he turned around to face them all, accidentally hitting Donald again with the rifle. "Well, gosh, why didn't any of ya say so? These traps weren't fer ya… they're fer the people who want me ta be a huntsman again."

"Look, before ya share yer sad backstory…" Mickey muttered, his claws firmly in the ground as his own 'funny feelings' weren't going to stay funny for much longer. "Mind lettin' us go?"

The dog looked down at the wolf, eyebrows raised. "… Are ya sure? Ya look pretty happy ta be there." He pointed at Mickey's tail which had not stopped wagging since his unusual entrapment. Still, the dog walked over, and got down on one knee, pulling out a knife from his belt and beginning to cut away at the thick ropes. "Name's Goofy. See, I used ta be a huntsman, and I would do any job asked. But then I kept gettin' these plain awful people askin' fer really nasty hunts. Wantin' me to get rid of their stepdaughters cause they're too purdy, or get their kids lost in here so they don't have ta feed 'em, and all kinds of real terrible stuff! Askin' me ta cut out their hearts instead of just gettin' a make over… So I decided ta quit business! I even quit the H.A. H.A.!"

"You quit laughing?" Minnie felt confident enough to open one eye by now. Maybe if she concentrated on Goofy and his tale, she ignored the knots being tugged inside of her. Mickey was the first boy she had really gotten to know, and lately she was getting to know more about boys than she ever thought she would. It was undecided if this was good or not.

"Naw, the Handy 'n' Able Huntsmen Association!" One rope cut, a dozen more to go. Goofy had a sad sound to his voice as he explained himself, losing his love for the job and the respect of those who shared the occupation. "It's where all registered Huntsmen hang out and look fer jobs together… now they just get ta-gether ta get drunk and brag about their kills. Ain't fun fellas ta be around. So while everyone else was movin' outta of the forest, I moved in, ta make sure people would leave me alone! I don't wanna hurt anyone fer dumb reasons! I may be kinda goofy, but I ain't heartless!"

With another rope cut, Mickey was able to move his arms, and tried to push himself off of Minnie. As he moved, a distinct smell came to him, and his paws on the ground felt tremors. "… That sweaty smell… Oh, we're in trouble!"

A horrendous crack echoed throughout the empty forest, and one large tree fell forward in a dead heap, missing the heroes by a mile. An impish troll of a man jumped on the fallen tree, and this was what they had been expecting before – the slack jaw, drooling insane individual, who bellowed because they could not speak. He was small, but it was the weapons on him that made him a fright. Latched on each arm was a gigantic spinning wheel, the same as the legend of the pricked finger, only these wheels spun rapidly, a forever loop. They were adorned with razor sharp spikes, creating an endlessly spinning chainsaw that could cut down mighty oaks and mighty heroes. The troll swung his arms around, slicing down two more trees to send towards the group.

Mickey managed to bolt himself away from the rest of the ropes, and headed for where the trees were heading – towards Donald and Daisy! Both had screamed, unable to save themselves, but Mickey and Goofy weren't about to let this story end yet. Goofy held up his rifle high, and with one shot, destroy the top of the net and sent Donald down the ground to freedom. Mickey grabbed Daisy's iron shackle, and with impossible strength, ripped it from the ground in one pull. He then lifted her up in his arms, running her out of harm's way until the mighty lumber landed.

"Please tell me ya ain't one of the groupies!" Goofy grabbed another knife from his belt, and began to stuck it in the front of his rifle.

"We need ta knock his head out!" Mickey dropped Daisy down, cracking his knuckles before getting ready to battle again. "That will stop him! Donald, Daisy, get yerselves and Red outta here!" He ran forward, wanting to bash the bad guy's brains out, but he had to spend time and energy dodging another fallen tree. Goofy stuck his foot to the ground, taking aim, and shot off his rifle – the knife flew straight ahead, and hit the left spinning wheel, clogging up the system and stopping the wheel from any further spin. The troll didn't even seem to notice, as it continued to dangerously flail its arms everywhere it could reach.

Donald and Daisy managed to reach Minnie, and helped her to her feet. "We gotta go, Mins!" Daisy tried to yank Minnie away, but the red riding hood wouldn't budge now that she was standing up straight.

"No! I have an idea!" She pulled her delivery bag over her shoulder, her mind racing ahead of her fear. "I need to get close to that man!" Her mind spun faster than the deadly spinning needles, analyzing the situation – the area around them was becoming a flat and level due to the amount of trees knocked down. "Follow my lead!" She began running forward, and the ducks, seeing little choice, followed her as fast as they could. "That tree right ahead… Push, jump, and roll!"

Donald and Daisy followed Minnie towards a fallen tree, and so followed her commands – they pushed it all together, jumped on it as it moved, and using their feet as balance and direction, began to roll it towards the troll! They all held hands to ensure no one would fall off, and the wayward villain never saw them coming. "And… jump again!"Minnie shouted as they got close enough, so they jumped backwards and off the tree just in time to have it roll and flatten their enemy down. Both wheels were destroyed, and no one could ask for a bigger knock to the head.

"Oh, Mins, I love you, you brilliant girl you!" Daisy squealed for joy at the success of the strange plan, but when she went to hug Minnie, the messenger was still moving, so she wound up hugging Donald instead.

As Minnie predicted, a white glitter began to leave his ear, but she wasn't going to let it vanish this time. She got down on her knees, and shoved the white feather into her bag, and then closed it shut. After a moment of pause, she opened the bag again, and to her relief, the feather was whole. "It worked! A messenger's bag is meant to contain magic!"

"Red!" Mickey and Goofy managed to catch up to the others, and the wolf grabbed his woman by the arms in a mixture of anger and fear. "What were ya thinkin'?! Ya coulda gotten hurt! They were supposed ta getcha outta here!"

"B-But Mickey, look!" Minnie held up her bag defensively, believing she didn't do anything wrong. "I got the feather! Now we can take it to someone and see what it is, and why it's making people so crazy!"

"S-Still! That don't… that don't give the right ta be… all… all brave, and smart, and…"He huffed and puffed, and then held her close to his chest again, and Minnie oddly found that this time her funny feelings had settled down. "Yer gunna kill me, Red."

Goofy poked the moaning troll with his rifle as the foe began to wake up from his stupor. "Now what'dja go ruinin' all the trees fer?"

"What…?" The troll rubbed a hand through his dirty hair, his sloppy attire matching his every moment. Yet his real voice was far cleaner."… I say, What am I doing here? I was on my way to the H.A.H.A. to show them my newest weapon…" He held up his arms to show them off, and then gasped to see their appearance. "My wheels! Who did this to my beautiful wheels?!"

"Then, let me guess." Donald offered a hand to help the troll up. "You got shoved, and your ear felt weird, and you can't remember anything since then."

The troll went quiet as he tried to recall, and gasped even louder when he couldn't find his memories. "By jove! You're absolutely right! I can't remember a thing, and my ear itches something dreadful!"

"Then there's one last thing we need to tie up all the totally crazy similarities…" Daisy strutted up to Goofy, tugging his sleeve. "Did you go to a school that, like, might have a reunion coming up?"

Goofy scratched his head with his rifle, nodding slowly as he recalled what he saw as unimportant timelines. "Gosh, I just might. I ain't got any invitation, though."

It was time for Minnie to wrap up the line of clues, and she dug into her bag, pulling out Goofy's marble. Sure enough, there it read in the inscription, the one who had ordered it was the same one who had sent invitations to Daisy and Donald – the Grimm brothers.

"I knew it!" Mickey took the marble away, holding it up so he could see the names. "That's the only thing the three of ya got in common… ya all got this school reunion comin' up! Whoever's behind these feathers wants ta get rid of all the student's comin' ta the reunion!"

"But that totally makes no sense!" Daisy snatched the same marble out of his hand, wanting to take a look for herself. "Why would anyone, like, want to get rid of us? Nobody cares about Donald's business, Goofy shut himself away from the world, and everyone loves me!"

Minnie managed to take back her marble, since she still had a job to do. "Whoever is behind this… I have to figure it out. This person is putting my customers in danger, and as a messenger, I can't let that happen. So I'm going to take this feather to the smartest man in Grimm City, Professor Ludwig Von Drake!"

It was mutually agreed with the group, save for the troll who was still lamenting the loss of his weapons. "And I'll be with ya every step of the way, Red…" Mickey patted her shoulder, and then began pushing her towards Goofy. "… Right after ya deliver yer message." There was no way he was going to miss out on his kiss after all that delightful trapped torture.

* * *

"Something's made those wolves anxious. There are more reports of their movements… what do you think their 'Alpha' told them to do?"

Tapping on glass.

"Who cares? It won't matter in the end. A few screw-ups aren't gunna stop us, not after all the work we put through."

Apple wine, poured into a borrowed cup.

"Tick tock, tick tock. I hope he makes it to the full moon. The most fun happens at the last second."

**End of Chapter Four.**


	5. House of Candy

_Thanks for being so patient! As always, great thinks to my great editor, Lies!_

* * *

_The brave heroes encountered trouble with a terrifying troll, but with terrific teamwork, victory was theirs once more. The maiden used clever thinking to ensnare the magic that had held their foe, but now she understood they needed to go back to the beginning. With the addition of a slow-witted but kind huntsman, they set foot once more to solve the mystery. Yet there were more secrets and lies waiting for them behind every turn of the page…_

Normally Minnie would be in bed by this hour, but with the capture of the white feather, she couldn't wait another day to have the answers. She headed out of the forest as soon as her wits were collected, followed by all of her companions – including Goofy, who had insisted "If someone's after my life, I think I'd like ta know more 'bout it." Mickey had given up on trying to keep the group small, and knew exactly where to go when the mice climbed back on his motorcycle. The ride to Professor Ludwig Von Drake's house was unusually quiet, at least from Minnie's end. Mickey could almost feel Minnie's eyebrows knotting as she laid against him, her mind in a puzzle of the feathers and what they had done.

More than halfway to their destination, Mickey spoke up. "It'll be okay, Red. We'll get ta the bottom of this, and next time we do a delivery, there won't be any more of those nutjobs gettin' in the way."

She sighed, nestling up to him. "I hope so. I'm really worried about the others in the class reunion, though… what if someone goes after them while we're looking into this?"

"Won't happen. Remember when I made a quick pit-stop ta my place before we went out?" How could Minnie forget, as she had seen the wolves she had once been so afraid of suddenly shake her hand like they were the best of friends? "I had my suspicions before we went after Goofy, so I told my pack ta sniff out anyone else who would have a reason ta go ta the reunion, and keep an eye on 'em. No one's layin' a paw or claw on 'em until we know what's goin' on."

That seemed to cheer Minnie up, as her grip on him tightened and her pretty voice gained a happier tone. "You did? Mickey, that's so sweet of you!"

"… Wouldn't say it's sweet…" But he took the compliment anyway, glad to lift her spirits. "Just keep yer chin up, Red. Maybe ya shoulda been a detective instead of a messenger. Was real smart of ya ta use yer bag ta grab that feather."

"But if I was a detective," Minnie answered without at first realizing she too was being complimented, putting her chin on his shoulder, "Then we wouldn't have met and you wouldn't have been my bodyguard." She had meant he was as resourceful as she was and needed his help solving the mystery, but he took it to mean something more romantic.

As a result, his own spirits were lifted higher than hers, and he revved up to gain more speed on the road, grinning with sharp teeth. "And now yer stuck with me! Yeah, this is what yer best at, and that's how it's gunna stay, the two of us!" She liked him! Well, of course she did! He had thought she would want to avoid any talk of feelings and their connection after their embarrassing physical stay in the woods, but what she had said, that was as almost as good as a love confession, wasn't it? Oh Red, she could be so mushy. It was a good thing he was such a man and knew how to handle his emotions! Unlike some weak girl, it wasn't as if his heart was racing, or his imagination was running, or he was making plans for how their first real mutual kiss would go, or -

"Mickey, watch out for that lamppost!"

Okay, so maybe he needed to learn more self-control. Life was an excellent teacher. Mickey snapped to attention, and leaned his body hard to the left, causing the motorcycle to ride on the sidewalk for several inches in order to avoid the lamppost that he would later argue sprung out of nowhere. He easily enough got them back on the street, but of course now they were directly in front of the Professor's house. He skidded to a halt, sighing heavily once they had stopped. Minnie shared this sigh, smoothing down her hood. "Honestly, Mickey, I don't know where your head goes sometimes! This is the second time I've had to tell you to watch where we're going."

Mickey tugged down on his cap but it wasn't going to hide how embarrassed he was. "Aw, we're alive, ain't we?"

She wouldn't take that for an answer. She slid off of the motorcycle, but got to his side before he could do the same. "Look at me." Startled at the order, Mickey did as he was told. Even when Minnie was upset and concerned, she was as adorable as ever, her hands on her hips and her cheeks puffed as she pouted. "Ever since we started working together, I feel like you've been hiding something from me, and your mind isn't in the same place for very long. If there's something bothering you, then you need to tell me. How are we supposed to work together if we can't trust each other? Don't you trust me with how you're feeling?"

Again, Mickey took a different direction than what she was thinking. Sure, she was obviously smitten with him, but had he shown her the same obvious signs? He thought he made his intentions clear, but to be fair, what did he know about boyfriends and girlfriends and sappy stuff? Though he had the tales of his parents and had seen members of his pack together, he supposed that ultimately it didn't amount to actual experience. "Hmph… well." He shrugged, deciding not to dwell on it right now. "I'd tell ya everythin', Red… but I know that ditzy diva and the others are gunna be here any second ta ruin it."

As if on cue, Daisy's stretch limo honked its way in on the scene, pulling in next to Mickey and Minnie. The last door opened, and Daisy came out first, sauntering her way over to the mice. "Mickey, you are, like, a totally terrible driver, you know? If, like, you hurt my Mins, I'm so gunna die! Just die!" Donald and Goofy came out soon after, and now the two of them had the same headphones around their necks with Daisy's music blasting through them. Goofy didn't seem to mind too much, and waved friendlily to the others, but Donald was acting as if the headphones were a collar he couldn't get rid of him, though he hid his grimace every time Daisy looked at him.

"She's fine, I'm fine, we're all fine!" Mickey growled, not enjoying more insults to his driving. "The important thing is that we're here now, and…" He then stopped, as he found a new reason to get angry. "… Did ya have a costume change on the way over?!"

"Like, duh." Daisy was now in an all white ensemble this time, from the wig to the high heels to the dress that circled around her in a tight fashion. It matched almost too perfectly with her white feathers, making her look more like a spirit instead of a model. "Like, we're seeing a professor, right? So I've got to, like, dress the part!"

"If yer playin' the part of-" Mickey's derogatory remarks were interrupted as Minnie tugged him by the arm, knowing what he was going to do. She continued to tug and lead him towards the Professor's front door, with the others in tow.

"No fighting!" Minnie was keeping her chin up but not in the way Mickey had expected. She had Mickey's arm firmly in her grasp, and her voice was equally firm, taking charge and not allowing anything else to go wrong this night. "We all have a place in this, so we all have to get along. So everyone is going to behave and be nice and then we can all put this to rest. Am I clear?"

"… Yes ma'am." The four replied, feeling little choice in the matter.

"Good." Minnie nodded once, and then began to knock on the door.

As they waited for an answer, Donald tapped Mickey on the shoulder, whispering to him lest the wrath of Minnie's adorable anger rise up again. "Hey… the big theory is that whoever's behind this is going after everyone who is going to the class reunion. Isn't the professor going?"

Mickey was about to answer, but in an instant, he understood why Donald asked. Ludwig hadn't been attacked by anyone. Why had he been spared? Or was he next on the list? Was there a rhyme or reason to the order of people attacked? Goofy and Donald had stayed in their homes for a long time, but Daisy had been out in the open for the first attack. Why hadn't they waited until she was alone? Both boys frowned, and hoped Ludwig would provide them with all the new questions that had started to pop up.

Ludwig opened his door midway through the third knock, and was delighted to see Minnie once more. "How about that! A double dose of Minnie Mouse! The Professor wasn't expecting another message so soon!" He pulled Minnie into the door, but this time Mickey wasn't letting him slam the door in his face. He stood directly in the doorway, preventing any movement from the door. Ludwig looked back at the odd crowd on his porch, and lifted his glasses to make sure he wasn't imagining anything. Her group had certainly expanded since he last saw her - A huntsman, a cobbler, and Princess Daisy – he'd have to get her autograph later. "… And so many helpers. This must be one doozy of a message!"

"Actually, Professor…" Minnie took off her message sack and began to open it. "This is off the clock. There's something I'd like you to take a look at." She held out the sack to him, while the others allowed themselves inside. The interior was still the same, with the shelves full of bubbling chemicals and the burnt rug from Minnie's accident in plain sight.

Ludwig took one look in the bag, and then gasped so hard his lungs nearly popped. "By the Queen of Heart's guillotine! One of the feathers! Where did you get this?" He hurriedly ran to a table, and laid out several scientific tools in order to extract the feather without dissolving. "I never thought I'd see them again!" Using a pair of special tongs, he carefully pulled out the feather, and placed it in a glass jar full of purple liquid.

"We found that magic feather in a troll's ear after it tried to kill us with spinning wheels in the forest." Donald didn't realize how ridiculous that sounded until he actually said it out loud. "… I wouldn't believe it, but I saw it myself."

"Like, we've seen these feathers all over the place!" Daisy took over the storytelling, gesturing wildly and refusing to stay in one place, leaving it up to Goofy to catch any beakers she accidentally knocked over with her moves. "At my totally rocking concert, this crazy cat almost clawed me, but Mins and Mickey saved me! Then a feather came out his, like, ear! So ewww! And then at Donald's little shop, it, like, happened again! But with a butcher, a baker, and a candlestick maker!"

"Then they went after me." Goofy was having trouble holding all these beakers and articulating his thoughts, but he was giving it his best effort. "But the troll said he didn't remember attackin' any of us! Said he was on his way ta the tavern, but he went 'n' lost his memory! Still can't find it!"

"That's what they all have in common." Mickey pointed to his ear, also illustrating the strange tale. "Someone goes up ta these fellas, sticks a feather in their ear, and they go after whoever's comin' ta this class reunion. But once we knock the feather out, they don't remember a darn thing. Since yer the smart guy around here, we figured ya gotta know what's goin' on!"

Once the story had been exhausted, Ludwig was strangely quiet. He looked to each figure, and then to the jar on his desk. He mulled something over in his head, and then pulled down on his spectacles. "… You are all probably wondering why all of the Professor's chemicals and tools are all in this one tiny room."

"Not really." Mickey had figured he was eccentric. "What's that gotta do with anythin'?"

"Come with the Professor." He headed to a door on the far right, and pulled out a key from his lab coat. He unlocked the door, and stepped aside to show everyone the next room's content. "A week before Miss Minnie and her messages met me, someone broke into my house!" This was an actual lab, fitting for a mad scientist, but it was covered in yellow police tape. Bits of broken glass from the smashed window littered the floor, a book shelf had fallen, a table was flipped, and a large metal safe had been opened, with the lock split in two. "It happened while the Professor was out meeting the Grimm Brothers. The police haven't got a clue. They only took one thing… and it was a big thing! It was in the safe, see?" He pointed to the safe that had been broken into. "That's where I kept the feathers."

Goofy, by this point, had carefully put back every single beaker, and his eyes were going over the vandalized room. Without waiting or asking for permission, he stepped over the police tape, and entered the room, getting on one knee to look at the broken glass. Ludwig didn't mind, seeing as the police had long since given up on finding anything new. "I have no idea who took them, or why they're being used to attack anyone in the class reunion. But I can tell you what those feathers were." He joined Goofy in the room, walking around him to pick up a fallen book. He flipped to the right page, and then held it out so they could all see an early map. "This is what Grimm City used to look like. Nothing but green as far as the eye could see, and you wouldn't think an eye can see very far, but 20/20 means a whole lot of numbers!"

He flipped to the next page, becoming a teacher again. "Way back ago, Mother Goose came upon this land, and wanted to use it for those who didn't have a home. She brought everyone she thought needed a home to this place, and that's when construction began. Now some people didn't take kindly to all these trees going down, so she used her magic to…" He paused, uncomfortable, and his finger trailed over the same sentence several times.

"I think I remember this story." Minnie tried to help, stepping into the room with careful tip-toeing. "Everyone understood Mother Goose's good intentions, and worked together to build the city."

Ludwig relented, rubbing his ink-stained fingers together. He was very reluctant to tell them, but if they were going to understand the seriousness of the situation they all found themselves in, he couldn't hold anything back. It was if had suddenly aged ten years by letting someone else know. "… That's what everyone is taught. But… that's not exactly what happened. Ignorance is bliss, and we've been having some very blissful students. Mother Goose's real power, her real magic, was the power of suggestion. She could make people understand her causes better with her feathers, and that's how she got this city built."

"Wait a huffpuff minute!" Mickey didn't bother to go over or under the tape, and instead barged right through it. At once his nose met with the same greasy, sweaty smell that the attacks had come with, but he was far too ticked off to make an important note of it yet. "Yer tellin' me that the wolves lost their homes cause Mother Goose tricked people with magic?!"

"Tricked is a harsh way of putting it!" Ludwig took a step back, but Minnie grabbed Mickey's hand to diffuse him ever so slightly. "… It's accurate, but it's harsh. The road to hell is paved with good intentions, and she paved a whole bunch of roads with them. She thought she could find a place for both people and wolves. She adopted two boys… that would the Grimm Brothers. She thought the three of them could handle this city together, but her boys told her about a fortuneteller that was predicting the worst. This lady says Mother Goose doesn't have long to live! And the fortune teller had never been wrong before. So, before Mother Goose kicked the bucket of all buckets, she had her feathers hidden away so no one could find them and abuse them. This was all a long time ago… but a month ago!" Ludwig slammed the book shut. "We found them! The Grimm Brothers were building a new factory, and I was there to offer my smarts, and then in the middle of digging for the foundation, we found the feathers! I took them so I could start experiments on them, and I planned to show everyone what I learned at the class reunion… Or I was going to, anyway, until someone decided to take them for himself."

"Whoever took 'em," Goofy spoke up, automatically gaining everyone's attention as he stood up tall. "It was a huntsman. There's shreds a' leather gloves in this glass… that's what all huntsman wear, fer starters." He began to walk around the room, and it was a bizarre encounter to have someone speaking in a less intelligent dialect yet speaking smarter than most of the people in the room. "The bookshelf was pushed ta make alotta sound and see if the Professor really wasn't at home. It's like when we're tryin' ta flush out our prey and scare 'em with noise. Then he went over ta the safe, cause that was the real goal." He kicked the destroyed lock up in the air, and caught it with one hand. "This was with an axe… a big one. And it took several tries, too… there's lots a cuts on here, cause the fella didn't get it right away. He coulda been done there… but then, like any good huntsman, he's got ta do more than hunt. We're all paid fer the jobs… and whoever paid him wanted this ta leave a message. That's why he turned the table, and made sure ta leave a big mess behind. Intimidation's what we got here, fer sure. Wanted ta make it seem like it was a big gang effort, so ya would be scared when ya got home and not look too deep inta it. But alla this coulda been done by one guy!"

Mickey rubbed his nose, now that he could focus on the sweaty smell. "So that's what this scent is… I've smelled this every time we got attacked. This huntsman musta put the feathers in each guy's ear. It has ta be the same guy who stole 'em!"

"That's all very helpful…" Ludwig began heading back towards the door, aging another twenty years in the stress of all the answers. "But that still doesn't answer the big question."

"How these two are so smart yet they can't pronounce 'to' correctly?" Donald's humor went unappreciated.

"How could the huntsman know to go after the feathers, when he wouldn't have known what they can do?" Ludwig was back in the first room, pulling out a drawer from the table. "The only ones who know about their magic are the Professor and the Grimm Brothers! And speaking of them… Minnie, would you mind delivering a message for me? I think it's time I told them about the robbery."

This was a rare case of double take by double sets of people. "Like, you haven't told them?" Daisy rubbed her neck after that strain.

Ludwig swallowed hard, tugging at the collar of his lab coat. "If someone found the last bits of my mother and got them stolen, I don't think I'd want to hear about it right away. But maybe they'll know what to do about this."

"Leave it to us, Professor!" Minnie came to the Professor's side, collecting her messenger sack. "It's my job to deliver every message given, and as long as the criminal is after my customers, nothing will stop me from solving this mystery! I promise!" She then smiled to her collective group, who had begun to share in her bright enthusiasm. "I don't know about you guys, but I can't wait. I'm going to the Grimm Brothers right away."

"We're all in!" Mickey pounded a fist into an open palm. Finally, a chance to confront the men he hated most in the entire city! He wasn't sure what he'd do with them, but he couldn't let this opportunity pass him by. Maybe he'd get it into their thick skulls that the wolves deserved to be here as much as anybody else, and they could start repairing their reputation. Oh, and maybe solve the mystery.

* * *

In the tallest building in Grimm City, a bovine beauty of a secretary was writing away important memo for her bosses when the doors opened. Most people would have been startled to see a mouse, a 'wolf', a famous singer, a cobbler, and a huntsman arrive all the same time, but the secretary merely gave them one glance and resumed her duties. The small mouse girl came up to the desk first, leaning on the tips of her boots to try and meet the cow's face. "Um… excuse me, miss? I'm here to deliver a message to the Grimms?"

The secretary lifted her lidded eyes, and pointed her pencil at the ragtag group. "And they are…?"

Minnie took pause, because it was actually a fairly good question. Mickey was her bodyguard, but what could she call the entire group? "They're… my friends." It felt strange to say, yet there were no changes in the expressions of her companions. They appeared to agree on the title, and it made Minnie's smile grow. She'd spent so much time inside her humble home that she'd forgotten what it was to have a friend who wasn't related by blood. Even her short time in school hadn't gathered many relations, since she had been so shy. "Yes! These are my friends!" She turned back to the secretary, whose face hadn't changed once. "They can come too, right?"

"Whatever." The secretary pushed a small red button on her table to turn on the intercom. "A Messenger is here. I'll be sending her up right away, sirs." She turned it off, and then airily gestured to an elevator that had begun to open to her left. "Their office is the top floor."

"Thank you, miss!" Minnie chirped, but when she made way to the elevator, Daisy suddenly picked up speed and rushed to get in first, almost spinning Minnie aside. Mickey managed to catch her, and growled at Daisy while the secretary ignored the world around her.

"Hurry hurry, everyone!" Daisy waved from inside the elevator, now ten times more excited than usual. "We've got to meet the Grimms, like, right now!"

"What's got ya so excited, Missus Daisy?" Goofy followed the others into the large silver elevator, though he had to duck his head a bit before getting inside. "Ya like the Grimms that much?"

"Honey, I've never met them before in, like, my whole life." Daisy began to pull out make-up from her purse as she used her reflection from the metal to apply fresh lipstick. "But either one of them could totally be my Prince Charming! Wouldn't that be, like, so romantic to meet up?"

Donald used the excuse of the doors closing to scoot in closer to Daisy. "Your Prince Charming, huh? So you're looking for a boyfriend… what's he supposed to be like?"

"Well, like, he's got to be totally handsome, duh." Daisy added some powdered blush to her cheeks, oblivious to how Donald was trying to smooth down his face feathers, "And he's got to be, like, really strong too." How Donald was trying to form a muscle with his noodle of an arm, "And I want a guy who can be a real sweetheart…" How Donald put the nail from his beak into his jacket, and puffed out his chest, "… And most importantly of all, totally rich!" And how Donald's face fell, looking down at his poor raggedy excuses for clothes. "I just hope those guys don't, like, fight over me. There's plenty of Daisy to go around!" She giggled as she imagined her romantic encounter, while Mickey gave a sympathetic pat to Donald's sulking shoulders. They quietly bumped fists together, for their mutual romantic pursuits were meeting a lot of difficulties.

It only took one minute to reach the last floor, and when the doors opened, Daisy was the first to leap out. "All right! Let's get my totally happy ending!" The others walked out, entering a luxurious office with everything doubled and matched up. There were two colorful rugs with the same design, two chandeliers dangling from above with the same crystals, a row of empty seats on each side, and two desks with two chairs seating two men with two portraits of the brothers over on the mantle. The men, who smoked identical cigars and even seemed to breathe the same kind of smoggy clouds, turned in their identical chairs to greet their guests.

The nameplate on the left desk read Pete Grimm, and this was a man whose stomach looked almost bigger than his desk, yet his classy suit covered him snugly. Everything about him was big, from big eyes, to big fingers, and big chewing noises at the end of his cigar. He almost looked like he was eating it instead of smoking it. The one on the right, Mortimer Grimm, was his opposite. Where Pete was overly large, Mortimer was overly thin – a thin body frame, thin ears, and thin teeth that stuck out from the top of his mouth. He sat up straighter than his brother, giving off only a bit more class than his sibling.

They were both absolutely hideous, which is why Daisy stopped in place, and then burst into tears. "I'm never going to get my happy endiiing!" She latched herself onto the nearest person – Donald happened to be so fortunate – and sobbed pitifully into their chest. Donald shrugged, and patted her back.

"What the heck's goin' on here?" Gobs of chewed cigar spat out of Pete's mouth as he spoke, eyeing every new guest. "A huntsman, a cobbler, a princess, a pretty gal, and a _wolf_." That word was stressed darkly as if he had uttered a swear word that even sailors would have fainted at. "It's like the beginin' of a bad joke. What happens when all of ya hit the bar?"

"Now now, Pete, apparently they've got a message for us." Mortimer's eyes bore into Minnie in a way she didn't understand yet made her feel vastly uncomfortable. "I'm guessing that'd be your cue, cutie."

Mickey started to growl again, but Minnie stepped forward, taking out the marble from her sack. "Yes, sir. My name is Minnie Mouse, and something really dreadful has been going on all over the city… I'll let the Professor explain it." She popped it into her mouth, and within seconds of a green glow, she took on the professor's persona, with bulging eyes and erratic gestures. "Oooh, we're in such a pickle, that cucumbers would be jealous!" 'Ludwig' began pacing frantically up and down the room, almost knocking over a small pet tank holding a white snake. Goofy tipped it so that the tank was even, noting that unlike everything else in the room, there was only one snake.

"The feathers were taken! Kidnapped! Going, going, gone!" This naturally had to come with a throwing baseball gesture. "The police don't have a clue, and I don't know what to do! I thought I'd lay low until I could find them and tell you what happened, but now they're being used to do acts so unspeakable, I'm going to tell you all about them!" 'He' then ran from person to person, grabbing them by the arm and shaking them as he described what happened at the concert, at the cobbler's shop, and in the woods. During the exchange, the brothers stayed quiet, puffing their cigars but not looking terribly concerned. They didn't even exchange any cautious glances, and regarded what was happening more as entertainment than a warning. "What are we going to do? The whole city could be in danger! We've got to warn the rest of the students who are coming to the reunion!" 'He' jumped onto Mortimer's desk, grabbed Mortimer by his tie, and yanked him in close, and yet the rat was still nonplussed about the ordeal. Rather, he was getting a close-up of this cute little messenger, and enjoying the view. "I'll be waiting for your orders, but we can't wait too long! We're all in danger, I tell you! SO MUCH DAAANGER!" After letting out that loud word of terror, 'Ludwig' sighed heavily, and smiled pleasantly. "Signed, Professor Ludwig Von Drake!"

With the announcement of his name, Minnie turned back to Minnie, and was confused when she found herself on top of Mortimer's desk – more so when she found she was holding his tie. "Oh, dear. Sorry about that."

"Not at all, Miss Minnie." Mortimer took her hand when she was trying to let go of the tie, and ignored a faint grinding sound from the distance. "We've known the old quack for a long time, so we're used to these… antics. Why, I should give him a thank you message, for sending me… er, us, such a pretty Messenger." The grinding got louder, but he still paid it no mind. "I'm Mortimer, and may I say it is an absolute pleasure to meet you." He went to kiss her hand, but now the grinding sound had gotten so loud he had to address it. "What's making all that racket?"

It was coming from Mickey, as he had started grinding his fangs so hard in fury he was become deafening. If he hadn't hated Mortimer already, then Mortimer was giving him fresh new reasons to become despicable. For Minnie's sake, he wasn't going to tear off any limbs, but the urge to do so remained strong. Goofy did his best to help, putting his hand on Mickey's head. "Sit, boy." He then pushed Mickey into a chair, and kept him down with one hand, gently chiding him. "Sit, boy, c'mon. Stay. That's a good boy."

Minnie cleared her throat to get the conversation rolling again. "Yes, um, it's… nice to meet you too. But what are you going to do about those feathers?"

"Frankly, I don't see how that's any of yer business." Pete had stood up by this point, and was using Donald's hat to catch his cigar ashes. "This only concerns us and dat wackey Professor. So why don't the bunch of ya go on home and leave the big important stuff to the grown-ups?"

"It's our business too!" Mickey snapped as he tried to get out of his chair, despite Goofy continuing to hold him down. "We all got attacked, so we're all involved! So tell us what yer gunna do about yer mom's mess!"

Mortimer sighed, getting out of his seat but never letting go of Minnie's hand. "Oh yes, our poor, dear Mother Goose. You know, we live every day according to WWMGD… What Would Mother Goose Do? And I can still hear her spirit to this day! It gives me the strength to keep on living without her!" he pulled out a handkerchief from his pocket, even though he wasn't shedding any tears and dabbed his eyes. "And I know she wouldn't want us to waste our important time and money on petty theft. If the professor called the police, then we should put our faith in the justice system and have it work out itself." He then waved the handkerchief toward Mickey, chuckling lightly. "Of course, I can understand how a common criminal like a _wolf _wouldn't understand…"

"C'mere and say that ta my face!" Mickey now had to be restrained by both Goofy and Donald, and he wasn't making it easy on either of them. "Always pickin' on my pack! Always spreadin' bad words about us! Why, if we were alone, ya wouldn't last two seconds! One for each of ya!"

Pete joined his brother's laughter, digging out a fresh cigar from his desk drawers. "Ain't that just like a wolf, always resortin' ta violence?" He tsked as he lit the cigar up, spitting the finished cigar into the snake's tank. "Yanno, Mortimer, I wouldn't be surprised if a wolf stole them feathers! And after all the good Ma did!"

"Why Pete, you may have solved the case!" Mortimer shook Pete's hand enthusiastically, while also shaking Minnie's hand with the same vigor. "I say we do our civic duty and call the police and tell them about these suspects."

"Ya leave my pack alone!" Now even Daisy had to join in the game of 'let's make sure Mickey doesn't commit murder', holding down his legs with little success while Goofy and Donald each held down an arm. "They ain't ever done anything ta hurt anyone! And it was yer 'Ma' who forced us out of our real homes! Yer the reason we gotta defend ourselves!"

Pete exhaled a heavy puff of smoke directly towards Mickey's direction, not finding a reason to worry or even raise his voice. "So we're the ones makin' ya scare people at night, so ya defend yer precious 'territory'? Territory that, legally, belongs to us. Ma found this land, bought this land, and made it what it is today. We made it better. Not our fault yer doggies can't keep up with the times."

Only now did Mortimer let Minnie go, in order to show how unafraid he was of Mickey by walking right up to him. "What good have your mutts ever done for your territory? We build homes, we give jobs, we're the ones who keep this city running. Without us, this place would perish. Without you… we wouldn't have to worry about fleas anymore." He then jabbed a thin, bony finger into Mickey's chest, daring the other to make a move. "If you don't like it, you and your kind can get out. We'll even pack your bags. You're nothing but a useless waste. Your pups will be a waste to the future, you're a waste now, the wolves before you were a waste to our mother-"

"Don't ya talk about my folks!" Mickey jerked forward, ready to chomp down on Mortimer's arm –

"STOP IT!"

All heads whipped around to listen to the squeaky voice still standing atop Mortimer's desk. It had been a close call, but once again Minnie's unusual knack for taking charge of her group was showing. "What good is all this arguing going to do anyone? We came here to deliver a message, and to ask for help about this mystery! Innocent people are being put in danger by these feathers!" She then leapt to the next desk in order to get closer to the entire mess. "It's my duty to look out for my customers, and you've all been my customers, so I won't have you arguing! Now, please…" She climbed down off the desk, thinking she had returned the situation to a more civil level. "If there's any clue or actual suspect you can think of, please, tell us! We really want to help!"

The brothers raised an eyebrow to each other, and then nodded at the same time. They both withdrew themselves from Mickey's general area, and Mortimer stood by Minnie's side. "Good at her job, good looks, and good at heart. That's what I call a triple threat. But, about this whole problem… the only ones who knew about the feathers' magic are us and the professor, so I can't give you any leads there. But I'll tell you what." He walked over to his desk, picking up a pen and a yellow pad of paper, scribbling something down. "I'll look into some possibilities, and then we can discuss them personally at the end of the week…" he then ripped the paper off the pad, and handed it to Minnie – it was directions and a time. "… over dinner. How about eight o'clock at the Golden Goose?"

Goofy, Donald, and Daisy thought they might need to tighten their hold over Mickey at the possibility of a date between Mortimer and Minnie, yet Mickey didn't give them a reason to. He scoffed, rolling his eyes. As if his Minnie would accept such a ruse! As if his Minnie would be seen with that rat! As if his Minnie would even think about going out with anyone besides Mickey!

Minnie read the paper over once, then took it and stuffed it into her sack. "All right. End of the week, eight o'clock at the Golden Goose."

Mickey's eyes froze mid-roll. He didn't hear that. He couldn't have heard that. Sure, his hearing was extra sensitive due to his wolf genes, but he must have heard wrong! He slowly looked at the scene in front of him, trying to find more reasons that his hearing was off. Minnie was shaking Mortimer's hand, waving Pete goodbye, thanking them for their help, and then urging back everyone back into the elevator. Mickey blinked, inhaled – no sweaty, greasy smell? – exhaled, but the facts remained the same. The gang took their time getting back in the elevator, with Mickey still in a state of shock. When the doors began to close, Goofy, Donald and Daisy all stuck their fingers in their ears, knowing what would come next.

"YA SAID YES TA THE DATE?!" Mickey's howl as loud enough that the entire elevator shaking, and he didn't relent for a second. "After all I told ya that they did ta me and my pack?!" On and on he raved about how terrible the brothers were, how the information about the date had to be a lie, and for every sputter and snap Minnie didn't budge, waiting for him to finish. He had plenty to say, as he was still yelling when they left the elevator, still yelling as they passed the secretary who didn't lift her head, and still yelling when they made it back inside.

Where Minnie had patience, Daisy had none, and she finally got fed up, reaching over to pinch Mickey by the ear. "Like, can you chill? It's not a real date-date, you know? There's no need to be so totally jealous."

His shoulders immediately hitched, and even as he talked, he growled, anger laced within every word. "Jealous? Who? Me? I'm not jealous. I don't get jealous."

Minnie stepped in his line of fight, hoping to find a way to diffuse the situation as she usually did. "Then why are you so mad?"

"I'm not mad either." The way he violently kicked at his motorcycle to get rid of the kickstand might've been inclined to disagree. Donald, Daisy and Goofy now found themselves the audience of an overly dramatic ridiculous play.

Minnie sighed, slightly annoyed. Though she had her patience and had adjusted to Mickey's attitude, he wasn't being reasonable. "It's not like I wanted Mortimer to touch me, but if I pushed him away, we might not have gotten any information out of him."

Almost all of his fangs were bared at this point. "I coulda gotten the info outta him."

"Ripping off people's arms doesn't get info out of them."

"Ya don't know until ya try."

"Mickey."

They faced each other, with different reasons for their displeased expressions. Donald wished he had some popcorn for this scene, as his friends watched the tempers rise. Minnie's arms were crossed, and Mickey slowly took his hands out of his pockets, deciding to relent for now. "... Fine. There may have been... a slight... tiny... itty bitty chance... I was jealous. But can ya blame me? The way that guy was grabbin' onto ya!"

"It's not like I was going to let anything happen." Though her patience was thinning, her tone was still gentle, trying to calm him down. How many times did she have to repeat this before he understood? Why was he acting this way? Didn't he want the mystery solved like everyone else? A date was only two people meeting for talking over food. What was there to get so upset over?

"Ya don't get it." He cracked a few knuckles. "It's a wolf thing. That guy was moseyin' in on my territory. He can't take what's mine... and…and…" Mortimer touching her, calling her pretty, getting her alone, all of it was too much for him to handle. He hadn't confessed his true feelings and that Grimm was going to take her? He hadn't felt so angry since he found his pack had made her faint. "And - and _I don't like anybody touchin' my things!_"

The second the words had left his mouth, he regretted them. It was so easy to forget that wolf logic didn't quite apply to anyone who was not a wolf, as evidenced by Minnie's big eyes, and her hands now on her hips. On the plus side, even when she looked absolutely furious, she was adorable. Not even the others could help Mickey now, the other three shocked by such a crude description – Goofy had covered his eyes, Donald his ears, and Daisy her mouth.

Minnie was naïve, but that line of innocence was now snipped in two. How she had matched Mickey again, in that she hadn't felt this angry since… why, she never felt this angry before! "I'm… your… thing?" She leaned in with every word, getting into his face with hard eyes. "Your thing!"

Mickey almost shrunk underneath that gaze, his own anger now absorbed into her, leaving him a pathetic mess. Maybe even in wolf logic that hadn't been the smartest thing to say. "...N-No, that's not what I... uh... Lemme rephrase..."

"Well, gee, master!" Her words were daggers into his heart, and she began to storm off as she turned away from him. "I'm ever so sorry for disobeying you!" She only made it five steps before remembering her promise, and walked right back to him. "And here's your reward, you… you stupid boy!" She slapped her hands onto his cheeks, and kissed him so roughly and fiercely that one wouldn't think it would be enjoyable – but Mickey still found it as such. It was quickly over, and she shoved him by the shoulders, making him land flat on his back on the sidewalk. He didn't dare move from his spot as Minnie left him, determined to go home on her own.

As soon as Minnie had stomped off far away enough, Goofy knelt down to the weary wolf. "… Uh, I think I got an idea for a lead… is this a bad time ta bring it up?"

**End of Chapter Five.**


	6. How They Run

_Thanks for the patient wait, my awesome readers! And you'll have to be patient again, sorry to say. I'll be participating in NaNoWriMo again this year, so I'll be gone for all of November. Hope this can tide you over until I'm done! Happy holidays! And as always, major thanks to my major editor, Lies!_

* * *

_The brave group traveled to see the wisest man in the world, but he provided answers they were not ready to hear. Though the huntsman was able to find a path, they went forward a different way and consulted with the rulers. Though a fierce battle was to be expected between the rulers and the wolf, it was the messenger who wound up with the greatest injuries. Now she was bound to a sacred promise, and with it, risked her friendship to the angry wolf. The huntsman once more led them down his path, but he could not guarantee that the group would stay together…_

A good breakfast for a wolf usually continued mostly meat, but for that following morning, the alpha mostly chewed and rechewed his favorite bone, his hard fangs and bitter temperament almost able to crack it in two. He sat in the middle of the floor, the mangy building filled with wolves who didn't dare ask what had caused their leader's ill temper. He said nothing, continuing to bite down, angry at the Brothers, angry at Minnie, and angry at himself. How dare Mortimer ask Minnie out on a date! How dare Minnie accept it! How dare Mickey call her his thing! But he wouldn't have said that if she had rejected Mortimer. He was wrong, but she was wrong, but he was wrong, but she was wrong…

"Girls are nothin' but trouble!" he suddenly barked out, startling the rest of his pack. He ripped the bone out of his mouth, and began smacking it down on the floor, coming across as an enraged toddler with its rattle. "After all our kissin', and all the times I saved her, and then she goes on a date with the guy I hate most! How'd she like if I went and saw someone? Is that what I ought ta do? Go and see a girl on the side? See how she likes it!"

No one dared to argue that logic, but there was a rumbling coming from the stairs. The door slammed open, and one of the youngest members of the pack panted, nearly out of breath as he stood in the hallway. "Alpha! There's trouble!"

"I'll say there's trouble!" Mickey pointed the bone at the one who was interrupting his temper tantrum. "I can't just go out with some other girl, 'cause I don't want any other girl! She shoulda known that when I said she was mine, that meant I was hers, too! Did I have ta spell it out for her?"

The younger wolf paused, unsure of what in the world he had walked into. "… B-But, Alpha-"

"Sure, I was the one who pushed the whole kissin' thing on her." Mickey countered to himself, now leaning onto the bone as if it were a majestic staff. "But she had ta know what that meant! Kisses are… kisses! They mean somethin'! … I mean, okay, she was kinda sheltered for a while, so she may not know everythin' behind everythin'… but she has ta know we're together!"

"A-Alpha, if you could just please-"

"Okay, so I never said she was my mate or my girlfriend right ta her face!" Mickey indignantly threw the bone at a wall, and watched it bounce off and knock another wolf on the head. "But she shoulda… understood it! She's a smart girl! Do I have ta spell it out ta her? We're together, and that's it! So… so I ain't gunna apologize, 'cause I didn't do anythin' wrong! She's mine, and I'm hers, and that's all there is!"

The younger wolf waited for a few seconds to pass by before trying again. "… Alpha-"

"FINE! I'LL APOLOGIZE! BUT I AIN'T GUNNA LIKE IT!" Mickey stomped as he stood up, ignoring the confused shrugging going on around him. "So ya'll can quit naggin' me about it! I don't wanna hear another peep outta anyone!"

The now very annoyed wolf in the doorway held up his hand. "… Permission to call you a bonehead, Alpha."

"… Granted."

"Bonehead, we've got trouble!" Now that he had his leader's attention, he let full panic come into his voice and frantic motions. "Some of the wolves that you sent out to protect the other class reunion folks are getting arrested!"

This was more than enough to snap Mickey out of his pity party. "What?! What for?!" The other wolves were surprised as well, getting up and asking similarly worried questions. "Did the class reunion folks call the police on 'em?"

"Not a one did, Alpha!" He shook his head, sharing their concerns. "The wolves were doing exactly as you said… staying far enough away so they wouldn't bother the folks, but keeping an eye on them so they'd be protected. But someone's been telling the police that we're harassing the folks, so they're locking them up!"

"Those lousy coppers!" A bigger wolf from the corner slammed his fists together, and growls reverberated across the room. "I say we bust our brothers out, and then bash the cops' skulls together!" Rallying cries of agreement and violence echoed here and there, but Mickey didn't join them. Normally he would have carried the same bloodlust, but after all the strange encounters he had gone through with Minnie and the others, he tried to visualize the connections these arrests could have. If they immediately reacted to this, there wouldn't be any answers. Every action had thought behind it.

He raised his hand, calling for attention, and the noise quieted down. "… Last thing we need is ta make a fire into an inferno. I still want us lookin' over the class reunion folks. Make sure the wolves who got arrested weren't actually doin' anythin' wrong. We'll get 'em out before the full moon… But don't go causin' trouble where it ain't needed." He adjusted his hat, and headed for the door, despite grumbling disapproval from his disgruntled followers. Still, he knew they would obey his orders, whether they agreed with them or not. "I still got a job ta do, but I'll look into it. Keep me updated."

Had he used up all of his anger by ranting about Minnie? That was possible, but as he walked down the stairs, he found himself tired. He was usually angry at something or other – angry at the Grimms, angry at society, angry at Mother Goose and the fog and the lights and… it was so tiring. He didn't like being angry, but something was always ready to set him off. Was that his fault? Was it a wolf trait? Either way, he wanted it to stop. He took a deep breath before he left his home, wondering if his anger was his choice anymore.

Still, it could always be worse. He glanced up at the sky, dark even though it was morning due to the smog and pollution. Though he could not see it, he knew the moon wasn't full yet. They still had plenty of time until that terrifying motion of the moon, when anger, fear, and everything about himself wouldn't be his choice at all.

* * *

Mickey wasn't the only one using someone who couldn't understand him to vent his frustrations out.

"I never knew such awful men ever existed, Granny!" Minnie was the one huffing and puffing for once, walking circles around her grandmother's rocking chair as her arms flew in upset gestures. "It's like he thinks of me as a pet, when he's the dog! Why, I almost fired him right there on the spot! If the fate of Grimm City wasn't at our feet, I would never speak to him again!"

"It's so awful, Rebecca." Granny replied, adding a sixth sleeve to her very long sweater, the knitting needles clicking together in harmony with the crackles of firewood under the mantle. "The world is an awful place. We should always stay inside."

"Oh, not everything is awful." Minnie slowed down in her spiral, holding her hands behind her back. "Daisy, Donald, and Goofy have been really nice to me. Maybe they talked some sense into him after I left… if he would listen!" She stuck out her lower lip, hearing Mickey's insulting ownership in her head over and over. "In fact… I'm not going to speak to him at all until he apologizes! Yes, he's getting the silent treatment! He'll only get kisses when I finish delivering a message!"

"I remember when your father first kissed me, Rebecca." Granny tapped the top of one needle to her cheek, sighing in a fleeting moment of happiness. "That's when I felt the spark. Always follow the spark. Follow the spark, and that's when it all gets clear."

Minnie slowed her walking down as Granny had made an odd point. Mickey had never kissed her, it had always been Minnie to Mickey. "… Is there a difference?" She asked out loud, not directly to Granny since getting a lucid answer out of her would be impossible. "Does it make a difference when a boy kisses you, instead of you kissing them?" She could imagine it being very different. Her kisses were often quick, but also light and gentle, since he seemed to have a habit of all but collapsing after them so she didn't want to hurt him. Mickey was gentle, when he wanted to be, but she couldn't see his kisses being gentle. He was rough around the edges, so it would make sense for his kisses to be very rough, and very deep.

She could see it so easily in her mind, and she touched her lips with two fingers. He was so possessive, his mouth would probably try to devour her whole, hungrily taking her in without a fight. She gulped, and grabbed her red hood, twisting it in her tiny fingers. The imagery alone was enough to make her shudder, but she could feel it too. His gloved hand to balance her head up, while his arm was around her back, keeping her up against his body. He would do his best not to hurt her, and when they were finished, he'd have her head rest on his shoulder. She knew she was safe in his embrace, but – but, oh, didn't she hate him? Was this kind of conflict possible? "… Granny? Can you be mad at someone… but still like them very, very much?"

"Two wrongs don't make a right." Granny had resumed knitting, and that was the only answer Minnie could hope for out of her.

Minnie could hear the sound of tires stopping on pavement, so any further daydreaming would have to wait. She rubbed her cheeks to try and get rid of her blush, and stuck her nose haughtily up in the air. "I'll see you later, Granny. I have a dog I need to discipline!" So what if he might be a powerfully good kisser? He still had behaved very badly, and she wasn't going to speak a word to him unless he apologized. But when she stepped out of her home, what was there to pick her up wasn't a bad wolf on a motorcycle. Instead, it was Daisy's limo, with the last door open to welcome her in.

"Hi, Mins!" Daisy waved from inside, and then patted the empty seat beside her. "We'll be meeting Mickey and Goofy at the Guild! Like, hop on in!"

Minnie slowly walked up to the limo, taking her time to step inside and close the car door. "… This is very nice of you, Daisy… but isn't Mickey supposed to pick me up?"

"We thought this would, like, be best." Daisy gestured to the other guest in the car – Donald was at her side, again being forced to listen to her music and looking ready to hang himself with the headphone cables. "After Mickey totally bungled up." She snapped her fingers, and the limo began to move. "So instead we, like, had Goofy give my driver directions. We're going to this, like, totally uncool place where the members of H.A. H.A. all gather." Minnie nodded, remembering Goofy telling them about the Handy 'n' Able Huntsman Association. That was the registry of all huntsman that Goofy had willingly left when he had gotten tired of the business. "Since Goofy thinks the feather robbery was done by a hunter, what, like, better place to go than where all the huntsmen hang out? It's called the Huntsmen Guild! But before we get there, we totally have to talk, you know?" It may have explained why everything about Daisy's ensemble today was about fake furs, making her furry and fuzzy as she crossed one leg over the other. "Like, what are you going to do about Mickey?"

"Well," Minnie held her hands in her lap, gauging her friend's reaction to her solution. "I'm going to give him the silent treatment."

"I'd kill for the silent treatment right about now." Donald mumbled as he pulled his headphones off.

"Oh, honey, no." Daisy waved a hand, casting this decision away. "That might've worked when you were, like, six. But we're all totally adults here, despite what your hair style says." She leaned against Minnie, comforting putting an arm around her shoulders. "Minnie, sweetie, I love you like the little sister I never had. But, like, it's time to grow up. You're a messenger, and that's big girl time. The cutesy, naïve, innocent thing is so last year." Daisy then began to run her fingers through Minnie's locks, tugging and curling to try and form different styles. "What you need to do is talk to him."

Minnie allowed Daisy to continue playing stylist while giving thought to what was said. "It's not like I try to be naïve…" So what strides could she take to prevent it? She did want to be an adult, but there was no how-to manual on how to stop being a child. Besides, she had taken some big steps already! She had delivered messages, fought villains, kissed a boy – speaking of which, she raised her eyebrows. "Actually, Daisy, maybe you can help me. Is there a big difference between kissing a boy and having a boy kiss you?"

Daisy stopped, and she shared a very incredulous expression with Donald. The birds even exchanged a look to make sure they had both heard the same thing. The superstar broke the silence, rubbing Minnie's cheeks as if she were a pet. "You are so totally beyond adorable, you know that? Of course there's a big difference! I've, like, had plenty of experience in my shows. But, like, since Donald's a guy, he'll totally tell you about it!" She turned toward Donald, but he didn't share her enthusiasm. In fact, he was now an embarrassing shade of red, the nail in his beak rolling back and forth by a nervous tongue. "… Let down my hair! You mean you've never-"

"I've been busy with the shop!" Donald snapped hotly, refusing to face either female. "I don't have time for women or kissing or any of that stuff!"

"I really was meant to join you guys." Daisy grabbed both Minnie and Donald's hands, rocking them back and forth. "I'm, like, your fairy godmother! Once we wrap up this feather stuff, I'm totally getting you a girlfriend. You tell me your type, and I'll set it up."

Donald threw a glance at Minnie, who merely shrugged. It was worth a shot. "… Well… I guess I'd go for a girl… who has a great fashion sense, is very kind, has a kind of annoying speech impediment… and blue eyes."

"I can totally find you a girl like that!" Daisy's blue eyes shone with excitement, oblivious to the hints, and oblivious to Donald putting a palm to his face.

* * *

The Guild was at the exact point where the city ended and the forest began, though the stench of alcohol could be smelled from miles away. It was one of the few wooden buildings left, and its age showed with every rotten plank hanging off the decaying structure. Yet the inside was bright and alive, with jukebox music blaring, gross men engaging in belching contests, and the occasional bar brawl breaking out between bullies. The swinging saloon door was being guarded by a big nosed beagle boy bouncer, who was refusing entrance to Goofy and Mickey. "If I tells ya once, I'll tells ya a million and six times… Ya left H.A. H.A., so there ain't no way I'm lettin' you and your mangy mutt in here!"

"But it's real important!" Goofy pleaded, taking care to step in front of Mickey so no fights would break out. "Can't ya make an exception just this once? We won't ever come back here again!"

"Sure ain't, cause you're not gettin' in now!" The beagle touched a small knife on his belt, ready to pull it out if necessary. "Now scram!"

Mickey huffed, but he and Goofy took a few steps away to rethink their strategy of 'pretty please'. "If ya let me at this guy, I'll have him cryin' uncle in seconds!"

"And then the entire guild would be makin' us cry." Goofy stuck his hands in his pockets, rattling his brain for new ideas. "Violence ain't always the answer… sometimes, it's the question! Maybe the others will have some good ideas."

On cue, Daisy's stretch limo pulled up directly in front of the men. Minnie opened the door, but she didn't realize she'd be seeing Mickey right away once she did. She and the wolf stared at each other as she held the door handle, and a staring contest began. She knew she had to talk, and he knew he had to apologize, but a shared stubbornness kept waiting for the other one to start. Uneasiness turned into glaring, but neither of them would say a word. Of course they did wrong, but how could they admit it if the other wasn't going to talk? Stupid wolf! Stupid girl! Didn't the other know what was already so obvious?

Goofy stuck his long face in the scene, seeing as it wasn't going anywhere. "We got a big problem! They ain't lettin' us in, no matter what we say! What're we gunna do?"

Daisy clapped her hands once, brilliance striking up. "I've got it! Give me and Minnie a few minutes." She then grabbed a perplexed Donald by the shoulders, and threw him of the car, slamming the door shut behind him.

From inside, Minnie begun to yelp. "Eek! What are you – Daisy, wait! Be careful! H-Hold on… that doesn't fit! Slow down!"

The trio of men decided they were better off not knowing what was going inside. Donald stood up, brushing his ragged clothes down. "Always nice to know when I'm not wanted… so, Mickey, how many 'in the doghouse' jokes am I allowed to make?"

"Ha ha haaaa." Mickey flicked the nail in Donald's beak in a flimsy effort to knock it out. "Look, I'm gunna apologize… but she shoulda known how I'd react when she agreed to date Mortimer!"

Goofy tilted his head in recollection. "Gwarsh, I thought she said she was only doin' it ta get info outta him."

"Not to mention…" Donald wagged a finger in front of Mickey's glowering face. "Not once have I ever heard Minnie call you her boyfriend. It's always been bodyguard, or just friend. So why should she turn down any guy who asks her out?"

"No one else is gunna ask her out!" Mickey's irrational bark was enough to make both men lose their balance temporarily. "No one sees her like I do!" Mortimer was a onetime mistake, that was all. No one else had the clarity or vision to pick up on how sweet and adorable his Minnie was. She was his caged bird, and he'd be the cage to protect her! Someone that frail and demure wouldn't be wanted by anybody else.

"All done!" Daisy announced, and reopened the limo door. She and Minnie left, making a beeline for the bouncer at the door, leaving three stunned men in their wake. "Like, excuse me, handsome?"

The beagle hadn't been paying attention to the antics going on only a few footsteps away, and grumbled as his attention was diverted. "Look, missy, how many times do I gotta say it?" He looked down at the girls as he continued speaking. "I ain't…. ever… g-gunna… gunnna… gunna…"

The reason for the beagle's sudden loss of motor function, along with Donald and Mickey's jaw dropping, was that Daisy had performed a miraculous make-over on she and Minnie. Daisy had switched out for a raven black wig that rolled past her shoulders, along with dark shades of make-up that illuminated her eyes in the darkness. She was now wearing a bodice that looked far too tight to be healthy, with strings crisscrossing across her chest, and a skirt that left little to the imagination. Minnie had been allowed to keep her red riding hood, but lost the rest of her outfit in favor of red hot shorts that showed off her legs. She was still adjusting to the high heels that showed off her toes, but fortunately more people would probably pay attention to the spaghetti strap top and sparkling barrettes in her hair. Though she was wearing less make-up than Daisy, it still had a dazzling aging effect on her face.

"My friend and I," Daisy purred as she held up Minnie's hand, entangling their fingers together. "Would really love it if you let us all in, like, just this once. It can totally be our little secret." She winked, showing off elongated eyelashes.

"Yes, ma'am!" the beagle eagerly saluted, kicking the door in, and continued to wave to the girls even after they entered. Goofy calmly picked up his friends dropped jaws, and helped drag them into the bar since their minds had been struck down in a love struck stupor.

The Guild was filled to the brim with burly hunters, bragging of their latest kills as beer sloshed from their foaming glasses. Heads of extinct animals hung on the walls, and a hot fire was roaring almost louder than the latest argument between an unruly drunk and the bartender. Upon the girls' entrance, whistles clamored back and forth, trying to get their attention. Daisy casually drank all the catcalls in, while Minnie was trying to hide behind her friend, uncomfortable with all the extra skin she had to show off. "Oh, look!" Daisy pointed off to a corner, spotting a dusty microphone next to the beaten-up jukebox. "They've got karaoke! That'll be, like, phase two of the distraction! You know all my songs, right?"

"But, Daisy, all your songs are solos!" Minnie was making a desperate and failed effort to hide behind her hood.

"First trick you need to learn in the industry, Mins… learn to lip-sync!"

It took Goofy a few slaps to get Mickey and Donald to stop staring at the girls, but once he had their eyes back in their sockets, he turned them around to make them look at their surroundings. "I bet my gut that the guys that robbed the Professor are in here. But the thing is, every huntsman is paid ta do every job. Since the professor said no one else knew about them feathers, we gotta ask the huntsman who done it why they done it."

Once Mickey could tear his eyes off Minnie's gorgeous legs, his nose twitched, picking up a familiar scent. "… Might be even easier than we thought." He rubbed his nose, and then inhaled deeply through his nostrils, focusing directly on that one scent. "I've smelled this one before… it was on each of the guy's who got a feather stuck in 'em." That same greasy, sweaty smell wasn't far off. He began to walk around the Guild with his pals in tow.

Those who weren't distracted by the singing session in the corner wound up leering and jeering as Goofy passed their tables. There were insults muffled barely under breath, and some were holding out their legs to trip Goofy over. He didn't mind any of these tirades, only stopping occasionally to adjust the shotgun tied to his back. Donald, however, was not one to keep quiet for long, especially as he found himself annoyed that they were picking on Goofy for no good reason. "Hey, why are they treating you like a bad pair of loafers?"

"Well, since I left the H.A. H.A., they don't think much a' me no more." Goofy shrugged, not bothered too much. He casually ducked as spit was lobbed at him, his tone never rising and his demeanor almost pleasant, given the circumstances. "Course, they didn't treat me too kindly when I was in it, anyways… callin' me dumb and weak, since I don't like killin' and hurtin' as much as they do. But that's how they are… they ain't loyal ta anyone, 'cept the one who's payin'. Since they don't think much a' me, why should I think much a' them?"

The duck and the wolf considered this a very strange way to think, but, as they watched Goofy ignore the troubles around him, they found themselves perhaps a little envious. The two of them always found a reason to be bitter and angry towards those around them, even if the opposition didn't mean to upset them. What was it like to be as peaceful as Goofy? They wished they could share his same mindset, but as Goofy tripped and dodged insults, they instead found their tempers rising hotly. What right did any of these thugs have to pick on Goofy, when all he had done was change his mind about his occupation?

Mickey came to a halt, and pointed to a corner across from them. There was no doubt where the smell was coming from now. In this corner sat the best looking and most muscular human man in the entire bar, sitting atop a red leather couch while he finished off another batch of beer. His long black hair was tied up behind his well groomed head, and he was careful not to let a single drop of his drink touch his red shirt, golden gloves, or high brown boots. "That's our thief." Mickey muttered quietly to his group, rubbing under his nose. "That same smell from the Professor's place, and from all those guys with the feathers… let's see what he has ta say for himself."

No sooner had he taken a step forward toward the target than he was immediately blocked. "What do you three have to do with Gaston?" Rarely had Mickey met a human who was the same size as himself, yet this tubby young man in a shabby vest was prostrating as if he was more important than all three heroes combined. "Last time I checked, Goofy, you thought you were too good for the likes of him!"

"Aw, I ain't ever said that, Le Fou." Goofy had to kneel down in order to be eye-to-eye with Le Fou, all the while remaining peacefully civil with him. "But we really gotta talk ta him. There're strange things goin' on in this city, and I think-"

"You? Think?" Le Fou snorted grossly, and others nearby laughed at what was to come. "There's a new one! Don't strain yourself, now! And who're these clowns?" He jabbed his thumbs at Donald and Mickey, who were having harder times holding themselves back with every word the midget said. "Let me guess, they tie your shoes! Which one does the left and which one does the right, or did you already forget which one is which?" Another round of laughter rang out, with Gaston chuckling darkly in the back, though he seemed to be searching for something in one of his boots, one hand digging in without taking the shoe off.

"Aw, it's gunna be a lot harder ta tell jokes without any teeth!" Mickey held up a fist, ready to sock Le Fou right in the funny bone, and Donald was pulling out nails from his pockets to join in on the barrage.

However Goofy grabbed both of his friends by the shoulders, gently pulling them back. He took a quick glance up at the ceiling – a wooden chandelier decorated with various horns from various animals – and then smiled at Le Fou. "I know I ain't the smartest fella 'round here, but I really need ta talk ta Gaston. It'd only be fer a lil' while, and there's people that could be in danger. So, if ya could please-"

"Gaston had nothing to do with those dumb feathers, so get your dumb friends and your dumb self out of here!" Le Fou flicked Goofy's big black nose, and then turned around. "Unless you're as stubborn as you are stupid." His throat jiggled as he laughed again –

Until he felt a sharp blade pressing into the front of his neck. He shut up at once, slowly looking down to see Goofy's hand holding the weapon from behind the fool. "… Gee, Le Fou…" Goofy murmured as the entire bar began to quiet down at this development. "I didn't mention anythin' about any feathers." The next couple of seconds were blurs to everyone – he pulled his knife back, kicked Le Fou forward, whipped out his shot gun, shot at the chandelier, and sent it crashing down on top of the short man and entrapping him in a circular prison. Goofy then stomped down hard on the wooden rings of the decoration to eliminate any chances of escape, aiming his shotgun directly at his bully's face. "Now, that kinda makes me wonder… did ya happen ta have anythin' ta do with the feathers too?" No one said a word as they all understood while that Goofy may not have enjoyed his trade of being a huntsman, there was no doubt that he was very, very good at it.

Le Fou understood this too as his sweat was glistening under all the lights. "O-Okay! Hold on there Goofy, old buddy, old pal!" Now his laughter was extremely nervous and very satisfying to hear for Donald and Mickey, who were grinning side to side. "W-we're all huntsmen deep down, right? There's no need to jump to any conclusions, or-" The shotgun was shoved against his large nose, and Le Fou began talking so fast spittle was flying everywhere. "We were paid! Paid! I swear! I didn't even know why they wanted those stupid things, b-b-but Gaston said we should do it! And it was good money, too! B-But the job wasn't over! W-when we got the feathers back, they said we had to-"

Once again Le Fou was interrupted, but this time it wasn't by an action of Goofy. Gaston had long since gotten out of his 'throne' and walked up to the fallen chandelier, stepping on it from the back. He had managed to find what he was looking for from his boot – and they could clearly see Gaston stabbing the white feather into Le Fou's ear. The smaller man's eyes glazed over, and his jaw fell slack, silencing him. "If he didn't make such good target practice, I don't know why we'd keep him around." Gastn stood up straight, locking eyes with Goofy, smirking in familiarity. "A lot of things have changed while you were gone, dog. Whatever you think you know, you can't prove. And I think you've all overstayed your welcome."

Taking the cue, the sounds of unsheathing knives and clicking guns began to rise up, as drunks and sobers alike got up from their chairs. Though Mickey and Donald were ready for a fight, even they could see they were heavily outnumbered and outmatched. Goofy took his time in lifting his shotgun away from Le Fou's face, and Gaston sneered, cracking his knuckles. "Le Fou may be cowardly enough to think you'd take a shot, but I've known you a long time, Goof. You don't have the guts to take a shot at me. You never could be a real man."

Goofy's finger rested on the trigger, but he didn't pull it, the shotgun facing Gaston's wide chest. "Believe me, Gaston… that's the nicest thing ya ever said." He then spun to the left and shot once, hitting the big collection of windows on the side. When the glass shattered, the bar erupted into madness, with guns blasting and men diving forward for battle. Goofy wasted no time in running for the newly made exist, Donald and Mickey immediately understanding and racing to grab their ladies. Daisy was yanked by the hand, despite yelling how she wanted to finish the chorus, while Minnie was scooped into Mickey's arms without a single complaint. The five jumped out of the jagged remains of the windows, racing back to Daisy's limo and Mickey's motorcycle without taking a look back at the escalating rampage behind them. Their wheels screamed in the foggy darkness as they made their getaway.

Minnie clung tightly to Mickey's back as his motorcycle carried her away, having forgotten all about their argument for the time being. It was because she was gripping up to him so tightly and up close that she could hear him perfectly after they crossed a red light.

"I think we oughta split up."

**End Of Chapter Six. **


	7. Yellow Brick Road

_Thanks for the patience, my dears! Gradschool has begun for me, which will hopefully lead me to actually being published someday. But that doesn't mean I'm stopping my fanction! Enjoy the latest chapter, and as always, major thanks to my major editor, Lies._

* * *

_As the wolf continued to lose members of his pack, the peaceful huntsman led the heroes into his past territory. Tension hung heavily around the red cloaked maiden and her wolf, but more important secrets lay around the corner. Though the heroes gained one answer, they were ambushed before any more could be reached. They had no choice but to retreat, and think of a new plan…_

Minnie was still very confused about her relationship with Mickey, yet when he had told her that they 'oughta split up', she suddenly burst into loud, wailing tears. Mickey nearly ran his motorcycle into a lamppost, but managed to screech his vehicle to a halt in order to console his crying mess. He flailed as he tried to explain that the entire group should split up – which only made her cry louder. It took a while but he eventually managed to convey he only meant they should try looking for clues on their own, and it would not be permanent. Minnie managed to calm down by the time they regrouped with the others to explain this plan, though Daisy still smacked Mickey with her purse for daring to make Minnie cry.

Donald took the initiative right away at the beginning of the week, forming an idea as he locked up his shop for the day while he was out. He headed straight to the police station, which was only a hop skip and a jump from his shop. The bright blue building shone as a beacon of hope, but Donald wished there wouldn't be too many cops hanging around at this time in the morning. He was relieved to only see a few squad cars, and he whistled pleasantly as he knocked on the glass doors of the station. He could see neat and tidy desks inside, and only a handful of officers going to and fro, too busy to pay too much attention to what he would do.

One officer noticed Donald, and began to rise from his desk. He was a lanky horse with a pitiful build, and his lackadaisical appearance made Donald wonder if they really cared who applied for the badge anymore. The horse opened the door and looked down at Donald curiously as if actually surprised someone was coming in to report a crime. "Uh, good mornin'. Can I help ya with somethin'?"

"Actually, I was wondering if I could help you!" Donald chirped as he held up his tool box which was a weary rusty red. "You guys have been doing such a great job on the streets that I've come to offer a free shoe shining to everyone in the force! It's my way of saying thanks for protecting us from those mean, nasty wolves!"

The horse believed the compliment, if his humble blush was any indication. He took a quick glance at his big black shoes – which were rather scuffed up and dirty, now that he took the time to notice – and so he opened the door wider to let Donald in. "That's real nice of ya, sir! Shucks, I can't remember the last time I got somethin' for free! This must be my lucky day!" He grabbed Donald's hand and shook it hard. "I'm Officer Horace Horsecollar, and I'm head of the Rose Red division! That's the one that handles major crimes, ya know." He showed Donald to his desk, which was cluttered with unfinished paperwork.

"Name's Donald." He put his toolbox down, and began to take out several items for the shining process. Some might think it was as simple as rubbing a cloth on a shoe, but true professionals knew how to make their reflection shine in a shoe. Even if this was a plot to get information, Donald still took pride in his job. "Have a seat right there." He popped open a fresh can of shoe polish, and stirred it with a tiny stick. "Have there been any 'major crimes' lately?"

Horace sat in his wooden chair and stuck out his left boot, arching his arms behind his head to relax. "Not really… mostly we've been arrestin' wolves. That's what the rest of the division is out doin'. Startin' ta get ta a point where it's all we do anymore!"

"But they deserve it, right?" Donald worded his question just as carefully as he dabbled the shoe polish on with a light brush. "Haven't they been causing trouble?"

Horace's pleasant demeanor began to wane now that he had a chance to talk about work. "That's what the Grimms have been sayin', but sometimes I just dunno…"

"Horace Horsecollar, the things you don't know could fill up a library." Another officer now stood behind his chair, and Donald paused in fright. Was the jig up? This cop was a cow, and overly familiar to horse, since she was hugging his neck from behind, looming her head over his. "Now what's going on here? You were supposed to come with me to check out the new prison."

"Aw, Clarabelle, I'll be there soon." Horace replied sweetly without taking insult to the insult. "But this guy's offerin' us all a free shoe shine, on account of us getting' all those wolves!"

Clarabelle raised an eyebrow, and Donald grinned nervously, quickly rubbing Horace's shoe with a fresh rag. "… Well, I don't know if we deserve that." Clarabelle decided to divulge with a sigh. "Half the time we have to make up charges in order to get the wolves in handcuffs. Just yesterday I arrested a wolf for loitering with his littering! It's ridiculous! It's a joke, that's what it is." She poked Horace's cheek over and over, trying to make him agree.

"Then why bother arresting them at all?" Donald took his time in rubbing Horace's shoe back and forth. What luck to get the two most talkative cops in Grimm City! "If nobody's complaining about them, then where are the problems coming from?"

"From the highest orders, that's who." Clarabelle came around Horace's chair, and then sat in his lap, snuggling up to him. Horace casually pet her shoulder, and since no one else was looking, this overwhelming display of affection must've been common. "What the Brothers Grimm say, goes. Or else we don't get as much money as we need from the city. They help with our salary, so we don't have a choice. And even if we try to follow up on other cases, they demand we only focus on the wolves. Like the other crimes don't matter as much."

"It's a real shame." Horace added with a sad sigh with Clarabelle nuzzling his neck. "Some of those wolves are real nice fellas. They just wanna help each other out."

Donald found it difficult to remain on task with his investigation when the people he was trying to interrogate looked ready to make out in front of him. "… I guess you two are an item, huh."

Clarabelle giggled, her arms flopping over the arms of the chair. "How could you tell?"

"Lucky guess." Donald snapped the cloth in his hands, readying himself for the other shoe. "I'm happy for you. Real happy. Some people have all the luck…" His bitterness escalated with every wipe of the shoe, thinking less about the plight of the wolves and more of the plight of his failed wooing. "Some people can get any girl they want… some people don't even want girls until that one comes along… And of course it's the one girl who doesn't notice you're alive… and some guys feel like they're going crazy, because they don't have a chance in the world but it's not like you can change how you feel, so what're you supposed to do when she's all sweet and pretty and you're just a poor dumb tailor who can't even afford to buy one of her CDs-"

"Girl troubles?" Clarabelle interrupted, taking over the conversation.

Donald glanced up. "… Maybe."

"Well, have ya told her about it?" Horace flopped a lazy arm around Clarabelle's shoulder. "Nothin' gets done if no one says anythin'. If she doesn't know yer alive, then ya gotta show her. Waitin' doesn't do much of anythin'. That's how I got Clarabelle. Told her I liked her. Simple as that."

"Oooh, my man is so smart!" Clarabelle snuggled in even closer to Horace, kicking her feet about and kissing his cheek. "I swear, sometimes I just want to lock you up in that new prison so no other girl can even look at you!"

Donald ignored the sappiness oozing between them, taking in the relationship advice along with another important tidbit. "Wait… you said you were a new prison? What's wrong with the one we have now?" The money to build a new prison could only come from one source and it was another piece to this ever growing puzzle.

Clarabelle paused, lips pressing together in contemplation. She was still an officer, and even when indulging in her own love induced ditziness, there were some things they weren't supposed to talk about. "… It's official police business. I don't think we can really talk about it. And we really should get going, Horace. It's supposed to be finished by the time of the class reunion."

Horace tapped his feet together, and smiled at the gleam of his shoes. "Gosh, they look brand new! Thanks a bunch, Donald! Are ya sure I can't pay ya?"

Donald smirked, the nail in his beak tilting upwards. "No… believe me, you've given me what I needed."

* * *

As Donald shone for solutions, Goofy hit the streets with his own idea. It had been a while since he had left the forest, so his walk was slow as he took his time gazing around the city. It was even bigger and dirtier than he last remembered, and he supposed it would only grow in both. Things were always changing, but as he advanced towards the nearest block he was confident one corner of the city hadn't changed at all. He stopped in front of a tall home that was shaking from the excitement inside. The windows were broken, the front door was falling off its hinges, and there were two sets of yelling voices within.

He had decided to bring along one of his oldest weapons for this trip –a silver axe that had dulled with time and misuse. He didn't want to hurt the people he was coming to see, but he also wanted to be able to defend himself. He hummed a small diddy – "Oh, the world owes me a livin'…" – and strode up the stairs, opening the door and not flinching as it fell off in his hand. He let it flop to the floor, and walked inside the damaged building.

"I'll skin you from head to toe, you miserable old miser!" screamed an elderly duck to the right, using a flipped over dining room table as a shield while she shot from her trusty shotgun. Her tattered orange and red dress shook as she took shot over shot, and she only stopped to adjust her spectacles and to tuck away some of her curly gray hair.

"You couldn't hit the broad side of a barn, you blind bat!" An equally powerful and angry scream came to the left, where another duck the same age had constructed a crudely made catapult made out of kitchen appliances to throw weathered books at his opponent. His blue outfit was equal in tears with hers, and he too had to make time to adjust his glasses, old age catching up with him.

"Howdy, Mister and Missus McDuck." Goofy called out during the pause in battle. It was business as usual for these past clients. "Sorry fer droppin' by without a call, but I wanted ta ask ya somethin'."

"You can ask that wretched rotting man why he won't die!" Mrs. Goldie McDuck snapped at Goofy while reloading her now empty shotgun as fast as her wrinkly fingers could go. "He doesn't know when to give up! I'll have his hide yet!"

"If you're on her side, then you're my enemy!" Mr. Scrooge McDuck rebutted, and now he took aim at Goofy, firing off copies of the dictionary and thesaurus.

Goofy calmly took out his axe from its holding place on his back, and sliced the oncoming books in half. "Still keepin' the marriage fresh. Always good ta know some things stay the same." He stayed put, showing that he was on nobody's side, and the middle was possibly the safest place for him. Everyone in the H.A.H.A knew of 'the Fisherman and his wife', an absolutely horrid couple that kept ordering huntsmen to take the other out. Years ago, Goofy had been hired by Scrooge to finish off Goldie, but then she in turn offered to raise the price if he took out Scrooge instead. Then Scrooge raised his price, and then Goldie raised hers, and Goofy wound up going back and forth several times before giving up altogether and decided his headache wasn't worth the escalating prize. He ducked as a stray bullet hit the doorframe behind him. "I dunno if ya heard, but I up and quit the H.A.H.A. business some time ago. I'm out of the game fer good."

Goldie turned her head towards Goofy as she fished on the floor for dropped kitchen knives. "Is that so? That's a real shame, dear. You were very good at your job. But maybe it's time you settled down, and found yourself a nice girl." She then threw the nearest knife she could find, missing Scrooge but severing an important part of his catapult and rendering it useless.

"What the boy should do is look into his retirement funds!" Scrooge picked up one of the fallen books, which so happened to contain a hidden pistol, and took aim. "The economy is nobody's friend lately, and if he wants to be able to settle down, he should take a good look at his records and see what he can afford to spare."

"Aw, I'll be all right. Still got a long life in me." Goofy rubbed his nose, smelling smoke – oh, Goldie was getting a makeshift cannon ready, that's all. "But from what I hear, there's some funny business goin' on within the H.A.H.A., and I can't get a straight answer outta nobody. Yer one of their oldest clients, so maybe ya can tell me what's goin' on."

Goldie shoved a heavy bag of gunpowder into the opening of the canon, coughing a little as some dusted around her beak. "Frankly, we'd love to know that too. We went around trying to hire some of those nice boys, but none of them will take us up anymore. Every one of them says they've already been bought out."

Goofy stuck his fingers in his ears and patiently waited until the cannonball had been fired, utterly destroying the fireplace near Scrooge. Once the wreckage had settled and everyone was sure the ceiling wasn't going to collapse, he pulled his fingers out and kept on asking. "Every last one of 'em? The entire organization? That's a lot of money fer a lot of fellas…"

Scrooge dragged a steel baseball behind him as he picked up a fallen brick from the fireplace. "The only ones richer than us are the Brothers Grimm. They've bought out every single huntsman, so now I have to finish off this hag myself. You just can't get good help these days!" He began to bat away bricks like baseballs, not caring where they landed.

Goofy rubbed his chin in thought, holding up the axe to his face to deflect any strikes near him. It did add up to what Lefou had nearly spilled. The Brothers Grimm had hired Gaston and Lefou to steal the feathers away from Ludwig, but then why buy out the rest of the huntsmen? There was no loyalty to these men and they may not have babbled if they were found out. Something bigger was brewing underneath the surface. Maybe one of his new, smart friends could figure it out. "Gosh… that is real strange… but I won't take up any more of yer time. Thanks fer havin' me!"

"Anytime, dear." Goldie shoved her table over, whipping around a chained mace. "Are you sure you don't want to stay for tea?"

Scrooge began to charge into battle with a heavy sword while shouting , "We've got a fresh batch of crumpets on the stove!"

"Maybe next time. Have a nice day!" Goofy waved a happy goodbye, leaving the couple to their casual catastrophe. While he was sure he had learned something useful, he couldn't pin down where this new information fit. He hoped his friends were having better luck than he was.

* * *

This was the worst day in the history of worst days! Nothing could compare to the sheer horror! The Brothers Grimm were devious, the huntsmen were horrid, but this? This was the king supreme of devastation! Why now? Why here? Why, oh why…

"Why do I have a BLEMISH?!" Daisy screeched as she clutched her golden hand mirror, unable to believe the absolutely disgusting face that looked back at her. "It's, like, all this detective work! It's totally giving me stress! And now, like, look at me! I am mucho hideous!"

Her assistant tried to keep up with Daisy as the anguished popstar paced back and forth in her gigantic bedroom, walking out a hole in her furry pink carpet. The deer was used to these tantrums, but she always needed to find a new solution to solve them. "Um… Princess Daisy, I don't… see it?"

"How can you, like, not see it?" Daisy whipped around, jabbing a manicured finger under her right eye. "It's right there! It's so huge! It's, like, ready to have its own career!" There was a chance something could have been there, under Daisy's feathers, and under the excessive amounts of make-up, if one had a microscope and knew exactly what they were looking for. "Now I'll never find my prince! I'm sooo ugly!" She wailed and flopped backwards onto her gigantic bed, kicking her high heels up in the air.

Fawn Deer was saved when she heard voices chattering away in her headset, and so she checked off an item on her board. "It'll be all right, your highness… and we just got the footage of the concert, as you wanted. Send it in, boys!" At her command, the pink door opened, and two burly gorillas walked in carrying a widescreen television and placing it in front of the bed. As they plugged it in and adjusted the recorded footage, Fawn inched near the closet, hoping to find an extra solution in there, just in case. "And if that doesn't help, why don't we go for a shopping spree? That always cheers you up."

Daisy sniffled, sitting up and tugging together the ends of her pink bathrobe – today's theme today was pink and nothing else, including the wig that was as disheveled as her mood. "I guess so…"

Fawn opened the wide door to the walk in closet, and scanned the large array of available options. "There's plenty here that's definitely last season, and some stuff that's really worn out… like, here we are! These shoes!" She picked up a tough pair of black stilettos, dangling them in her hand. "The heels are ready to fall off. We can trash them and get you a new pair."

"Oh, we can totally get Donald to fix those." Daisy dismissed the problem, finding a spare brush on the bed sheets and tending to her wig. "It'd be no problem for him."

Fawn blinked, still holding onto the pair. She'd never heard her employer talk about keeping something that was, Mother Goose forbid, old! "… Really?"

"Totally! He's a cobbler. He's got, like, the cutest little shop too." Daisy's voice was picking up with every compliment, stringing her hair through the brush. "And he's, like, super sweet. He'd make such a good prince, except he's all poor. And would you believe he's never heard of me? That's, like, mega super poor. We really need to, like, work on that."

Fawn was still befuddled but if it kept her diva in a good mood, then she'd stick onto this path for dear life before another tantrum was pitched. "So are you saying if he was rich, he'd be perfect prince material?"

Daisy froze in mid brush. "… Uh. Wait. I didn't say…" But then that was kind of what she said, wasn't it? "No, no… it's… look, you remember my huge prince qualifications! Aside from the rich thing, he has to be brave," Which Donald was, facing the huntsmen, the ogre, and the trio in his shop. "And he has to be sweet," Which Donald also was, sticking up for Minnie when she needed the boost , showing brotherly affection for Goofy, and even helping Mickey despite their fights, "And, uh, hold on, he also has to be strong!" Donald was. "And have a job!" Donald had one. "And have blue eyes!" Donald had them. "And… uh… rich! He's still not rich! He's still not rich, and will never be rich! So he is definitely not my prince, okay? He can't be my prince!" She grabbed Fawn by the arms and shook her, vigorously desperate for an agreement. "He's not my prince, okay?!"

Fawn slowly pointed her finger towards the television. "… I think it's all ready, your highness."

"Oooh, right!" Daisy dropped her assistant, thankfully distracted. She snatched the remote out of one of the gorilla's hands, and sat back down on her bed, ready. "So that huge puss in boots was at my concert, so I wanted to see, like, what happened before he stormed my stage." She pressed play on the camera footage and squinted at the screen. These cameras had been pointed at the audience, so she looked for any signs of strangeness. She was momentarily diverted by seeing Minnie and Mickey together – "Could they be any cuter?" – but fortunately she spotted the gigantic cat finding a seat only a few rows behind the mice. He looked normal, and certainly didn't look like he planned on causing any kind of ruckus. Due to his girth, he took up a few seats, and no one was choosing to sit behind him. Except…

… Except there was some kind of movement in a seat behind him. Then, out of nowhere, a feather was jabbed into his ear! The cat jerked in place, and that's where the insanity had begun. Daisy paused the video and rewound it, trying to get another look. As the assault happened once more, she could see this time that a gloved hand was doing the jabbing, but the glove wasn't attached to anything! No wrist, no arm, it appeared and vanished in the same instant! Daisy leaned in closer, with the gorillas and Fawn leaning in too, curious to the discovery. Again, Daisy rewound – the seat behind the cat was shifting in a way she couldn't describe. The concert lights were shining oddly on it as well.

"What are you looking for?" Fawn asked, tilting her head every which way to try and catch what Daisy was catching.

"Like, I'm not sure, but…" Daisy almost had her forehead glued to the TV. "… I think there's someone sitting there." She tapped the screen, at the shifting seat.

"I don't see anyone." Fawn shrugged. "Unless they're invisible."

What was supposed to come off as a joke lit Daisy's eyes, and she jumped on her heels, brilliance blasting in her head louder than any song. "I know what's totally going on! Get the limo! We're going to Fabric Felix Junior!"

* * *

Fabric Felix Junior was a quaint tailor shop that had good business since he kept up with the ever evolving technology. He had taken a solemn vow to never use magic in any of his products, just like his father before him. On the same day as the rest of the revelations, he was fine tuning his favorite sewing machine when the bells above his door rang, signaling a customer. He looked over and tilted his hat politely to the cute little mouse maiden who made her way in. "Good afternoon ma'am, and welcome to Fabric Felix Junior! If there's fabric, I can fix it!"

Minnie smiled sweetly at the introduction. "I'm glad to hear that. I have a little tear in my red riding hood, and I'd like to have it fixed before I go out again."

"Can do!" The bells rang again, and Felix immediately went into his greeting. "Good afternoon sir, and w-w-w-WOLF!" Lo and behold, behind Minnie was Mickey, who was getting used to the frightened reactions wherever he went. "N-Now hold up here! I don't want any trouble, you hear?"

"And you won't be getting any!" Minnie held up her hands, making sure to keep in front of Mickey in case he lashed out. "He's my bodyguard… he won't do anything, I promise. He's really nice! Right?" She was ready to give Mickey a warning look, but to her surprise, he wasn't growling or snarling. He wasn't happy, but he was putting up with the treatment, hands in his pockets, and a sour expression on his face.

Felix slowly made his way over, not trusting the wolf but unable to refuse a customer. "If you say so, ma'am… I'll need to take a closer look at your hood."

"Mm-hm." Minnie watched Mickey a little longer, and in turn he quirked an eyebrow. She hesitated, and then slowly untied the hood around her neck, and folded it up, handing it over to Felix with all the delicacy of a fragile package. Mickey noted to himself it was the first time he had ever seen her without the hood, and his eyes lingered on her exposed neck.

Felix visibly relaxed now that he had material to work it and he thumbed it between his fingers. "Now this is a beauty! It's seen some years, I can tell! Made the old fashioned way, too. And that's how we run things here. No magic, no sir! Like my father did, and his father before him!" He proudly carried the precious hood to the sewing machine, leaving the mice to chat amongst themselves.

Minnie felt uncomfortable without the presence of her mother's hood, and wound up tugging on the hem of her dress, almost feeling exposed. She tried not to think about it. "… You're acting very… behaved today."

"Yup." Mickey didn't want to embarrass himself by going into the unmanly details of why his attitude was changing. Being angry was so utterly exhausting, and not a lot of good came out of it. It was as if everyone expected him to be furious all the time, and it was an unhealthy way of living. He wasn't even mad at Minnie anymore, though they hadn't still 'officially' made up. One had to be in a relationship to break up and make up, and their lines were still blurred. It was why he had insisted on going along with this little side trip despite the fact, as Minnie had pointed out, he was the one to suggest splitting up. They could split up after they got this chore done, he had replied, and Minnie let it be. "Ya know," he said to break the tension, "I feel real lucky. This has ta be the first time anyone's seen ya without yer hood on, Red."

Minnie's eyes went down, embarrassed. "… Well, I had to take it here. I can't let Granny sew it anymore… she'd turn it into a six armed sweater. But I've worn it for so long, that I feel… different… without it. Like I'm not myself."

Mickey felt a twinge of guilt. "… Maybe I shouldn't have come along?"

"No." Minnie replied at once. "It's okay if you're here." She didn't add on, but she did lift up her eyes for a moment. Yes, she was exposed, but it was okay if he was the only one to see her exposed. Mickey understood this meaning, and felt hot under the collar of his jacket. He had thought the best way to advance a relationship was physical, but apparently great strides could be taken simply by offering one's presence. She trusted him, and that made him stupidly happy. He didn't realize he was smiling until Minnie copied his smile.

"Ya still look good, even without the hood." If he was going to make her comfortable, then he'd best treat her as he normally did. "But now I can't call ya Red, if yer not Red." He pretended to give the problem some thought, and then placed both hands under her chin, forcing her to keep her head upwards. "There we are, nice and red now!"

Minnie's cheeks were crimson from his touch, and she squeaked. "I-I am not."

"Red as apples. Hm!" He slid his hands up to cup her cheeks, taking his unabashedly unashamed flirting higher. "If I bite ya, am I gunna sleep forever?" Minnie squeaked again but showed no signs of resistance. He wasn't going to neck her in the shop – as terribly tempting as it was – but it was fun to see her flutter at his fake threats. It'd keep her mind off missing her mother, at least. He was ready to try and get her ears to turn red too, when he took a deep whiff – he was supposed to smell her hair, but something else got in the way. He paused, and sniffed again. He pulled back from Minnie – much to her confused disappointment – and sniffed again and again. "… I know this smell… it's Gaston! And the Brothers Grimm! Those three have been here!"

Felix had been ignoring their antics up to this point, but at Mickey's announcement, he began to pale while the sewing machine clamored away. "… Gee! Well, I, uh, that… I get a lot of customers, you know? It sure is hard to keep track of them all! This'll be done real quickly, so if you could just stay there and not touch anything or smell anything or do anything…"

The only one who could tell Mickey not to do something was Minnie, so Mickey went about following his nose, and Minnie didn't stop him. The smell was coming from the shelves where small cardboard boxes were arranged left to right. Mickey picked the right box, and opened the flaps. "… There's nothin' in here." He couldn't believe such a big clue lead him to nothing. He stuck his hand in there anyway, and felt something silky under his fingers. He looked in – he saw nothing, yet he was definitely touching something. He yanked onto the touch, and held it out in front of him. "Wait a minute… this stuff is invisible! It's an invisible fabric!"

Minnie gasped, and Felix was nearly hiding behind his sewing machine, none of them taking notice of the big shadow outside of the store. "I-I-Invisible fabric? Why, that's… nooo, of course it isn't! It's… special fabric, that only the smartest people in the world can see!" Neither mouse was buying it, and Felix moaned, hugging his machine. "Oh, I'm ruined! I broke the family oath!"

"Start talkin'." Mickey advanced on Felix, his not-girlfriend in tow. "What is this, why do ya have it, and why does it smell like those no good brothers?"

"They're the ones that ordered it!" Felix whined, ready to drop to his knees for mercy if that's what it took. "They said if I didn't help them create a special kind of invisible cloak, they'd close me down for good! But you can't make that kind of stuff without magic, so they made me work with this awful fortune teller! I didn't have a choice, I swear!"

"Oh, you poor thing." Minnie came to Felix's side, offering him some gentle petting. "There there…"

"What did they want it for?" Mickey frowned, holding up the fabric to the light.

"They wouldn't tell me." Felix took off his hat, wringing it pitifully in his hands. "But I went and soiled my family's good name…"

"It's not your fault, and you didn't soil anything!" Minnie insisted trying to keep Felix from falling back on his knees. "We're here to help! We're going to solve this mystery… and once we do, I promise, no more bad things will happen to you ever again!"

Her promise was broken before it even started, as the shadow from outside smashed the front door open. The newest customer was an immense snake, taller than all three shop residents combined. It hissed in contrast to Minnie and Felix's screams, and it slithered quickly towards them. The trio ran out of the way before it could sink its fangs into anyone. The rest of its long body filled into the shop, knocking down shelves and racks, smashing anything in its way. It turned around, making way to lash out again, its tail slamming near the sewing machine.

"Mother's red riding hood!" Minnie yelled in horror, the last remnants of her mother in unspeakable danger. "It'll be destroyed!"

"Not if I have any say so!" Mickey leaped into the fray, heading towards the snake with his claws bared. The snake saw him, and dove its head for him, its jaws open wide for a mouse snack. Mickey shot his arms up, catching the upper part of the snake's jaw. He growled as he struggled to keep the snake's mouth from closing, his strength versus that of a monster.

The snake lashed its tail violently, and Felix clutched his heart, terrified. "My store! He's gunna wreck it!"

Mickey was in danger, and Minnie believed it to be all her fault, because for a split second she had cared more about her cape than her own life. But this was no time to be swallowed by blame, she had to think fast. Her eyes flickered back to the hood, back to the sewing machine, and she began to run. With speed only a mouse was capable of, she used her momentum to grab the machine, swing herself around, and deliver a mighty kick to one of the snake's fangs. It cracked off under her boot, and she grabbed it once she hit the floor. "Felix! Do you have a hammer?"

His tools were scattered all over the ground, but a hammer was one of them. He got a hint of Minnie's idea and picked the tool up. "We can fix it!" He sprinted to Minnie and the two climbed on top of the thrashing snake, which now shook even harder to get them off. But they managed to stay on, and Minnie stabbed the snake down with its own fang. Felix banged on top of the fang, driving it in deeper and deeper, until the snake could take no more of it and succumbed to its fatal wound. Mickey hopped out of its mouth, and the snake's head fell down, dead as a doornail.

Minnie slid off of the snake as Mickey caught her, and as he looked over the incredible scene, he knew he had seen this creature before. "… Didn't the brothers have a pet snake in their office?"

"Yes…" Minnie stayed in his protective arms, clinging to his jacket. "… But it was much, much smaller."

Felix was catching his breath, wiping sweat off of his head with the back of his arm. "I'm no expert… but sounds like… more magic."

"It sounds like more trouble from the Brothers Grimm." Mickey eased Minnie down, his temper showing signs of returning.

"Don't you worry, Mickey." Minnie took back her fixed hood, and tied it neatly around her neck. "I'll be sure to ask Mortimer Grimm all about it, and I won't stop until I get an answer!"

Mickey blinked, and glanced back at Minnie. "… Huh?"

Minnie pulled the hood over her head. "Don't you remember? Tomorrow, I have a date with Mortimer."

So much for not being mad at anyone anymore.

**End of Chapter Seven. **


	8. Spinning Wheel

I hope you all enjoy this latest chapter. Thanks as always to my goddess editor, Lies. Thank you, readers, for your patience, as she and I are both very busy with actual work and school. Being a grown up sucks!

* * *

_The brave heroes found that their path had split, and so they traveled along each road to help one another. The cobbler dared to go behind enemy lines, the huntsman revisited the past, and the princess uncovered an impossible secret. Meanwhile the wolf and his maiden once more found their lives threatened, but were able to overcome it together. Yet there were still many obstacles present, as the heroine began to veer closer to dangerous territory while the wolf helplessly nipped at her heels…_

The Golden Goose was the fanciest place to eat in the entire city. For those who couldn't ordinarily afford such lavish meals, it could take months to get a spot on their exclusive waiting list. It was easy for Minnie to feel intimidated as she stood in front of the decorated doors, and she wrung her red cape in her fingers before timidly trying to open one. The golden glow inside the fancy restaurant was almost blinding – it was as if everything inside was made out of solid gold. Once she had blinked hard enough to get her eyesight back, she swallowed hard and approached the maître d who was checking off a list at his podium.

"Excuse me?" She spoke up, catching his attention. "I'm here to see Mortimer Grimm? I think we had a reservation at eight…?"

"Right this way,_ mademoiselle_." The maître d smiled, not even needing to check his list for her. The man was as thin as a candlestick, as his pony tail bobbed behind him as he walked further inside the restaurant. "_Monsieur_ Grimm is already here, and we are always delighted to have a new guest. Just tie your napkin round your neck, _Cherie_, and we provide the rest."

Minnie relaxed as she followed him, but while she tried to focus on the task ahead, she couldn't help overhearing conversations from other tables. She thought she'd hear nothing but snooty chatter of wealth, but instead the word she commonly heard most was 'wolf'.

"… thought it was weird, but eventually the wolf started opening the door for me…"

"… wish they'd release the wolf that kept visiting me, she was such the sweetest…"

"… used to be so scary, but the wolf wouldn't go near me unless I said it was okay…"

Could they have been talking about the wolves that Mickey had sent out to make sure the other class reunion candidates were safe? She wanted to stay back and listen, but the waiter had cleared his throat, signaling they were at the right table. There sat Mortimer Grimm, in a gigantic booth that could have filled a party of twenty. Minnie put on her best smile. "Good evening, Mister Grimm."

"Mortimer, please!" He patted the empty space next to him. Despite the no smoking sign directly above his head he was puffing away on a fat cigar. "And I've already ordered. I figured you'd be a meat and potatoes kind of gal, right?"

She wasn't. "Thank you, Mortimer." She began to scoot in, smoothing down the gold fleece dress Daisy had especially styled for this night. No matter how uncomfortable she felt she had to pull through this night if she wanted to get any information out of him. She kept up her sickly sweet smile even as Mortimer draped a bony arm around her shoulders.

The maître d almost looked sorry for her, frowning deeply as he left to check the front of the restaurant for more guests. He wasn't surprised to see a small group already there, given the popularity of his place. "A table for four? _Messieurs_, _mademoiselle_, and… er…" He trailed off for a moment seeing the third person. Normally wolves were not allowed inside, but perhaps under these circumstances he could make an exception.

'These circumstances' were handcuffs chained tightly around Mickey's wrists. His lips were trembling with ready snarls, but Donald wagged a finger in front of his face. "Hey, you agreed to it. This is the only way we're going to let you come with us so we can keep an eye on Minnie. If you can't behave, you can wait outside. Can you be a good boy?"

"Call me a boy again and I'll bite yer beak off."

"… Close enough." He pulled his finger back to safety, deciding it would be better to address someone else. "Is all that get-up necessary?"

Mickey wasn't the only one wearing a little something extra. Daisy was going incognito in her own way, in tight purple belts with violet kerchief tied around her head. She tilted her purple sunglasses up, before lightly tapping on the maître d's list to pinpoint her reservation. "Totes necessary, Donald. A celebrity like me can't, just like, go anywhere, you know? If I don't disguise myself, I could, like, get totally mobbed! We got to be really totally discreet. So don't call me by name. Tonight, call me Cinderella."

"I've got a few other names ta call ya." Mickey growled, but he followed his friends without another word. Goofy had his hands in his pockets, humming about how the world owed him a living. He was perhaps the calmest person in the group, if only because he wasn't paying as much attention. When they got to their small table Goofy flipped open his tall menu instead of looking at Minnie's booth, as the others were doing.

"I can't stand it." Mickey's paws grabbed the table, nails digging through his gloves and into the wood. "Can't stand it, can't stand it, can't stand it! He's got his hands all over her, and we're supposed ta watch? What if he tricks her? What if he tries ta take her away? What if he says he'll never let her deliver another message again unless she says she'll be his girlfriend?!"

"At least you're taking it well." Donald sipped cold water from a glass on the table, nodding thanks to the waiter before he left.

"We, like, seriously need to get you into anger management classes." Daisy was at the end of the table, sitting next to Donald. The two of them sat across from Mickey and Goofy, the latter stuck on getting either salad or soup. "I know this situation is major tense, but, like, being angry all the time is going to do nothing except get wrinkles all over your face. Total ick."

Mickey's throat moved, and then his eyes began to move down. "… I can't help it."

"Yeah yeah," Donald rolled his eyes, almost done with his glass. "You want Minnie to be your gal and nobody's else's, and the Grimms are evil incarnate, and - "

"No." Mickey sharply cut in, shoulders hitched. "I _can't_ help it." That was enough to silence Donald and Daisy, who cautiously looked at him, with Goofy still fumbling over the menu. This was humiliating for Mickey to admit, turning his paws over to look at his brandished claws. "The full moon is gettin' closer. Magic is at its most powerful when the moon is out… and wolves are sensitive ta magic. It gets us on edge. Intensifies our feelin's. We can't control ourselves. I don't wanna feel this mad so much… I hate it. But there ain't anythin' I can do about it."

Donald and Daisy exchanged surprised looks, along with some guilty tugs in their chests. The cobbler felt the most awkward so he quickly spoke up. "That actually explains a lot… with Minnie having those magic messages, that's why you go over the top so much."

"I totally wish I knew how to, like, make magic." Daisy lamented as she pushed her sunglasses further up her beak. "I bet then I could, like, easily find my prince charming."

"I've never really liked magic myself." Donald added, rolling the nail between his bill while not noticing Daisy's forlorn glance hidden under her sunglasses. "It's a privilege, and only select people can have it. You are born with it, and nobody knows what the pattern is or why only certain people can make it. It makes everyone in this city so lazy. They rely on magic for so much… even basic communication!" He gestured towards Minnie, who was airily picking at her newly arrived meal.

Minnie wasn't comfortable with the size of the meal, nor with Mortimer's overly tight grip on her. She had tried to steer conversations her way but Mortimer was a backseat driver. "How come this school reunion is so important? I don't think of heard of any others being such a big event."

"Because Pete and I are the ones hosting it, of course." Mortimer patted her as if she were a misunderstanding child. "Anything ordinary is made extraordinary when it comes to the Grimms. We can take the most boring and trivial event a place can offer, and turn it into a spectacular phenomenon! There is nothing a Grimm can't do."

"But… but that's not what I asked." Minnie pointed out, confused in the sea of narcissism. "I said, _why_-"

"And once people see how successful we are, up close and personal," Mortimer continued after an unhealthy puff of his cigar, "Maybe it'll inspire them to do something meaningful with their lives. It's almost a burden, being this inspiring. This place would be nothing without us, but even we need some down time. Some one on one appreciation." His arm curled around her neck for a moment, his fingers pressing under her chin and Minnie felt as if she was choking. She stayed perfectly still, and apparently didn't give him the reaction he had wanted, as his hand slithered away from the spot.

Minnie eyed the glass of red wine that she hadn't drunk from yet. If Mickey was here, that wouldn't have been the only red liquid here, without a doubt. If Mickey was here, he'd bend Mortimer into a pretzel, and then quickly run his paws all over Minnie to 'eliminate Grimm germs' or whatever nonsense he could think up. If Mickey was here – but Mickey wasn't there and she wasn't going to get anything accomplished by dwelling on him. She shook her head hard in an effort to dump Mickey out of it, and forced her concentration back on Mortimer.

Mickey grunted once in agreement, still talking to Donald about magic and its hindering abilities. "I don't get it either. But it's out of my hands. I can't control the way I feel about those… lousy, stinkin' Grimms cause of the moon and its magic." The room was too hot for him, and he was sweltered by hate and frustration. Minnie had a talent to cool him down, but without his Minnie medicine all he could do was stew in his own aggravation.

"That's a relief!" Goofy chirped as he was now inspecting the wine selection. The Golden Goose's wine had so much alcohol that an inexperienced drinker could be hammered in less than a bottle's worth. "And here I thought ya were mad 'cause ya couldn't give Minnie everythin' Mortimer can!" He then closed the menu, satisfied with his choices. "Anyone else ready ta order?" He smiled at his companions, who in turn were now staring at him with open mouths and wide eyes. "… It's okay, I can wait."

"Say that again." Mickey repeated ever so slowly, a tremble beginning in his throat.

"It's okay, I can-"

"Not that! The other thing!"

It took Goofy a moment to understand which part Mickey was referring to. He then shrugged offhandedly, placing the menu flat on the table. "Gee, well, seemed ta me like ya were worried Minnie might like the Grimms since they're so rich and successful and powerful, and all ya got ta show fer yerself is a dirty old buildin' no one wanted anymore. Seems like ever since she met ya, she's been put in danger, and then ya went and called her yer thing, too. Two of ya ain't ever talked about yer feelin's, far as I know, so there's a whole lot ta be worried over! Then the Grimms come along and they've got power over the whole town, and Mortimer didn't even hesitate ta ask her out on a date, and meanwhile all the kissin' the two of ya have done was 'cause of payment. If I were in yer boots, I'd be real scared and not even know if she liked me that way at all. But ya said it was magic, so that's gotta be a whole lot of burden off of yer shoulders, huh?" He flashed another innocent smile, and then tried to wave to the waiter, having made a decision about appetizers. By the time he'd gotten the French man's attention, Mickey had sunk so low in his chair only his ears were visible from the table. Donald looked to Daisy for help with the situation but she wouldn't look him straight in the eyes. He leaned over, trying to get her attention, and she leaned away, pink cheeks contrasting with all of her violet. Donald gave up.

Minnie wasn't having an easy time of things either. Her plate was a mess, cut up pieces of meat she didn't care for and herbs she couldn't recognizes mixed together in an effort to make it look like she'd been eating. It turned out that getting Mortimer to talk was incredibly easy. Getting him to talk about important matters was a different story. He was wrapping up his life story – part four, how he finished elementary school – when he stopped to take a drink of red wine and Minnie quickly seized into conversation again now that she had an open chance. "So how has the investigation into the missing feathers been going? Any leads?"

Mortimer swirled his glass back and forth, displeased they had gotten off his favorite topic. "Don't worry your pretty little head about it, sweetie. We've got the entire thing under control. You just keep doing your messenger thing, and if you ever get scared about this whole robbery, you come back to your man." He squeezed her arm and Minnie felt as if ants were crawling up her limb. At least when Mickey touched her, he actually looked at her when he did so, gauging her reaction to see what was allowed and when to push back. Except the time when Goofy's trap had forced them together – and memories of that event still made her lungs tight for whatever reason. Why did Mickey keep coming back into her head like an unwanted guest? She was able to see Mickey's ghostly image over Mortimer's shoulder, giving an immature raspberry, Nyah nyah, can't get rid of me.

"But what if you can't find them before the school reunion?" Minnie made another effort, shifting her arms to try and let him know his touch was unwanted. Maybe if she blinked hard enough, Mickey would vanish and her mind would clear and her lungs would unclench.

Instead Mortimer's grip tightened on her, and she could feel his fingers tugging on the loose threads of her riding hood. "We will, we will. We've got the best men hunting them down. Why don't we talk about something less depressing? Have I told you about the time I knew Pete and I were destined to help our dear city?"

Minnie's fingers pinched her hood. "Actually, there's a few things I wanted to-"

"It all started the day we met the fortuneteller!" Mortimer grandly announced, using his glass as a baton to welcome the ceremony of his greatness. "She was the one who told our precious mother what to do with this massive unpopulated land…"

But it wasn't unpopulated, Minnie thought, it belonged to the wolves. Since Mortimer wasn't going to listen to her, she drifted away from his flowery speech – how the fortune teller had predicted their mother's death and the brothers' rise to power – and surveyed the fellow customers at the restaurant. Were they still talking about their own wolves? The idea made her smile. If everyone knew how good the wolves were, they could truly integrate into society. They could walk in the daytime, and make friends, and not have to be angry every waking minute. She idly thought of her own wolf, and sighed – did she miss him so much that she was starting to see him everywhere? She was even starting to see her friends there too.

She blinked, and then blinked again. That man at the table nearby almost looked Goofy – she squinted. It was Goofy! And Donald! Logically that ridiculously looking woman next to Donald had to be Daisy. Goofy reached over to what she thought was an empty chair and helped Mickey – Mickey?! – sit up straight. What were they all doing here? She quickly looked at Mortimer – he was too far gone in describing his first donation to the police force as advised by the fortune teller – and then back to her friends. At once she was both relieved to see them and angry that they had shown up. Did they think she was so naïve that she couldn't handle one small date? That she needed a chaperone?

She looked at Mortimer again, and her face fell. No wonder they had come along. They had been right to think she couldn't do it. She hadn't gotten one dollop of useful information out of him. Well – well she'd show them! She could do this! She was a brave young lady, and resourceful, just like her mother! She grabbed her untouched glass of red wine, and downed the entire drink in one heavy gulp. It was a decision she immediately regretted, feeling glassy-eyed and dizzy seconds afterward, but she sat up on her knees and spoke louder than she intended. "Mortimer, will you please be honest with me?"

Mortimer paused, and faced her with raised eyebrows. Donald lightly nudged Mickey, trying to get him to listen, as the Grimm tried to understand what happened. "Honest? I've been nothing but honest!"

"You won't tell me a single thing about the investigation into the feathers!" Minnie spoke quickly, not wanting to leave herself open for a chance of interruption. She took off Mortimer's arm like a bad piece of old laundry and let it flop at his side, glad to be rid of the thing. "Don't just tell me you've got people on it, I want details! And… and I want you to leave the wolves alone!"

Had Minnie not just taken a gigantic gulp of intoxication, she may have noticed how dark Mortimer's expression was turning – the way his eyebrows knotted together, and the way his mouth closed lock tight. He was making a cruel decision right there and then, and his face wasn't hiding any of his intentions. Instead, she only saw him frowning and nothing deeper than that. "Speaking of leaving things alone, maybe you shouldn't poke that cute nose of yours in places where it doesn't belong. You're a messenger, babe, and that's all." He went to refill his glass, but in defiance Minnie snatched the bottle away and poured one for herself.

"A messenger's job is to say things people can't say on their own!" Minnie poured until her glass began to spill, and she drank this second cup down just as fast as her first. She was twice as dizzy now and twice as confident in her mouth. "And I'm saying that you should tell me what you know, and be nice to the wolves! I bet you've never even met a wolf before!" The room had started to tilt to one side and Minnie shut her eyes tightly three times to get it to align. "I mean, besides Mickey. And I know he doesn't make a good first impression. But he's nice. And clever. Terribly clever! And he's dumb too, but it's a nice kind of dumb. A sweet dumb! And he wants to help me, so you should help me too! Now what's really going on with the feathers, Mortimer?"

Mortimer said nothing for an entire minute which Minnie considered a record. Then he pulled the cigar out of his mouth, and pressed it deeply into the ash tray on the table. The dying smoke met with the color of his eyes and he exhaled deeply. "… Nothing I say is going to stop you from your mercy mission, is that right?" There was finality to the question, as though if she continued forward then there was an end to come soon after.

"Thass' right." Minnie said, slurring on her third glass of bravery juice. "I'm gunna… going to keep looking for the feathers! And be nice to wolves! Because they're both good things. And Mickey is a very good wolf." She stated that last fact proudly, beaming brightly in contrast to Mortimer's shadowy expression.

"She likes me." Mickey quipped quietly. "She really does like me." His thin tail flicked back and forth against his chair in victory but he grabbed it when his friends held up single fingers to their mouths.

Mortimer dug a business card out of his shirt pocket, and flipped it over into Minnie's fingers. "If you want answers so much, why don't you visit an old friend of mine? She always tells me what I want to hear, and I think she'll do us all a lot of favors." The card was fuchsia, laced with perfume that made Minnie's nose wrinkle. In cursive writing it alluringly announced _'Magica's Lair Of Dreams : Fortune Telling At Its Finest'_, with the address down below. Minnie looked up to ask him about it, but he was standing up out of the booth, tossing neatly folded bills on the table. "I think I'll cut this date short, babe."

The group of four watched the Grimm and the girl leave their table, cheering in their chests that their dear Minnie had emerged unscathed. Goofy patted Mickey on the head, proud of his little friend. "That wasn't so bad! Ya handled yerself real well there!" Donald and Daisy now matched with thumbs-up. Hurray for an evening of peace!

Mickey fought off a smile at the corner of his mouth. It felt unmanly to admit he liked the praise. He swallowed, proudly holding his head up high. "I can handle myself just fine, I told ya guys. Just need ta have more faith in me and Red. Nothin' was gunna happen, I knew it all along."

"And here I kept worryin' for nothin'!" Goofy clapped his hands once. "I thought ya might go all out nuts about their goodnight kiss!"

Donald and Daisy could have killed Goofy in that moment of complete idiocy. They had to make do with making strangling motions with their arms, and miming for Goofy to shut his trap. But what was heard could not be unheard, as Mickey suddenly seized the table in his powerful grip, standing up in rage as his chains were stretched to their limit. Goodbye, peace. "Good… night… _WHAT_?!"

"She's not really going to do it!" Donald tried to grab a hold of Mickey's arm, Daisy grabbing onto the other. "She wouldn't do it on a first date! Right, Dais - Cinderella?!"

"Right!" Daisy nodded rapidly, but her eyes were on the handcuffs that began to twist unnaturally. "She wouldn't kiss a guy she, like, barely knows! They're still, like, strangers, totally!"

Mickey might have listened to that logic but Goofy was on a roll that night, tilting his head and scratching his ear. "Gee, didn't she first kiss Mickey without knowin' him either?"

Outside of the restaurant, Minnie couldn't hear the chaos exploding inside, nor would she have imagined her friends tackling Mickey down to keep him from committing homicide. She fingered the business card in her fingers, aware of Mortimer's shadow looming over her but not addressing it yet. He talked first, clearing his throat. "Not too bad of an evening, wouldn't you say?"

"I guess." She strained her neck to see him. "Thank you for the meal." Were dates always this short? She felt exhausted, the wine swimming in her brain and dulling most of her questions and confusion.

Mortimer leaned down closer, hands in his pockets. Though he still carried disappointment, he wanted to make one last try for fun. "Don't you think you owe me something?"

"Oh. Of course." Minnie turned her face away from him, and dug into her dress, pulling out crumbled bills and dirty coins. She held them out in her gloved hands, and counted them when he was taking too long. "I think this should cover it?"

Mortimer clicked his tongue to his yellow teeth, and took each article of money one by one. "It's a good thing you got a nice body, doll face. It's a shame. A real crying shame." His pristine white limo was waiting for him at the end of the street, and his only goodbye was a passing wave as he turned away. She thought she heard him mutter "Real shame" again, but she couldn't be sure about it. The night was cold, and when Mortimer's limo pulled away, she held herself with her red riding hood. Under the flickering lamp post across the street she saw Mickey's motorcycle loyally waiting. She walked over to it, and ran her fingers over the reflective metal.

She sat in the street, hugging her knees, and leaned against the vehicle, sighing softly. It was possible she dozed off – when she opened her eyes again, her friends were outside of the restaurant, being lectured by the same French waiter to have some manners before daring to step inside again. Goofy was patiently paying for the damage, while Donald was mouthing off to Mickey. Mickey wasn't paying attention to any of this, his head snapping around for any sign of the Grimm. Daisy was the one to point out where Minnie was, and Mickey was in front of his girl in seconds.

"What'd he do?" Mickey asked so quickly that all his words blended together in one demanded snap of fright. Minnie couldn't register it at first, and opened her arms without saying anything. Mickey asked her the same question and she gave the same response. He fidgeted and then picked her up, gently as a newborn, cradling her in his arms. She smiled, finding a comfortable space in his neck, and Mickey couldn't find any more words.

The other three came over, and Donald picked up the fallen business card. "At least we have a new lead out of it." He announced to no one in particular.

Mickey nodded slowly. "… That rat really doesn't want us lookin' in. Might get a lot more dangerous from here on out." He let the words sink in, and waited for objection. When he didn't get any, he tried again. "So… so if anyone wanted out, it'd be okay." Again, no one responded. "… Look, what I'm tryin' ta say is-"

"We're in this, no matter what." Daisy pulled off her sunglasses, poking Minnie with them and trying to see if she was asleep. "We've, like, gotten this far. Besides, who believes in dumb stuff like fortune tellers? I bet, like, Mortimer is trying to totally throw us off the scent."

"You believe in prince charming, but not fortune tellers?" Donald smirked, but decided he didn't want to know. "Listen, Mickey, we'll all be there at this chick's place. And how about the next time you want to say something, you just say it? I think this entire city would be a lot better off if everyone tried talking to each other. Wolves, people, you and me, I bet even your anger issues would stop if you honestly talked to Minnie… and she wasn't drunk."

"M'not." Minnie mumbled.

Mickey didn't fight off his smile this time. These guys and girls could be smart alecks like his pack. "Don't say I didn't warn ya. Fine, then, ya wanna go with it, then we don't go back. We'll all see this fortune teller the day after tomorrow. Gotta give Red here time ta rest."

"M'fine." Minnie insisted, trying and failing to sit up in Mickey's arms. "I'm… let's get on the cycle. Let's go. I can go. I wanna go. Wanna go with Mickey. Mickey's a nice wolf. Good wolf." She pressed her fingers to Mickey's cheek in an attempt to pet him.

Mickey nuzzled her affectionately with his nose, and then turned to Goofy. "I can't take her on my bike. Goofy, Daisy, get her home in the limo. I'll take Donald home." Minnie whined as she was transferred to Goofy, and Donald pretended not to laugh. "We'll meet back here day after tomorrow, same time, same place, and we go as a group. We go as a pack."

"Whatever you say, Alpha." Daisy grinned, and Goofy nodded enthusiastically. Minnie hiccupped.

Donald headed to Mickey's motorcycle, but then stopped. Perhaps it was time it took his own advice. He glanced back."Hey, Daisy." She turned back to him, and Donald took the nail out of his beak, pointing it at her. "You and I should go on a date sometime." Then he hurriedly turned back around so he wouldn't see the expression on her face, almost sprinting to get on the bike and ride off into the dark. It was Mickey's turn to laugh at him as they vanished into the night.

Alas, poor Goofy, now having to drag off two passed out women.

* * *

Tick tock, tick tock.

"Of course I can handle them. It's a shame your brother could not."

"Morty's always thinkin' with dames instead of brains. But dat's all been cleared up now. We can't wait any longer, the reunion's gunna be here by the end of the week. Just keep yer end of the bargain and we ain't got nothin' to worry over."

"Oh, please. As if I haven't done that all of your miserable life. Are my predictions ever wrong?"

Throaty laughter. Cigar smoke.

"What's yer prediction this time?"

"Sweet dreams, under a full moon."

**End of Chapter Eight.**


	9. Field Of Poppies

_Thanks for your overwhelming patience, folks! We're almost at the end! As always, major thanks to my major editor, Lies!_

* * *

_The heroine went face to face in battle against her enemy, but while she came out unscathed, it was not a complete victory. The wolf tracked a new scent to follow, and the group followed down this unmarked path, while the humble cobbler wooed the beautiful princess. With every step they were closer to the new moon, to their answers, and to more unspeakable danger…_

Minnie was still feeling the side effects of both her heroics and her drinking when it came time to see the fortune teller. The day before she had stayed in bed almost all day, groaning with nausea while Granny wove sweet tales about her mother. She drifted in and out of sleep, dreaming of her mother's warm hands stroking her face and coaxing the sickness to leave. Wouldn't mother be proud of her accomplishments? Wouldn't mother praise her for her hard work? But mother wasn't there when she woke up, and loneliness she'd long since forgotten returned.

There were no engine roars to signal Mickey's arrival that day. Instead he simply knocked on the door and offered to walk Minnie there. They managed to leave before Granny had seen them, and the cold night air eased Minnie's stomach. The two held hands as they walked but did not consider it something to be deeply excited about anymore. It was natural. Even so, Minnie was distracted, and Mickey squeezed her hand twice to try and win her eyes back. "Somethin' on yer mind, Red?"

Minnie didn't answer right away, but she wasn't able to lie or shoo the question off. "I was thinking about my mother… Not that I've stopped thinking about her!" She suddenly spoke rapidly as if apologizing to her mother this very instant. "I mean, I always think about her. She's always with me. Well, she can't always be with me, and I do think about other things, but I do try to keep her with me, and-" She was pulled in closer to Mickey, as now he had taken her entire arm to hold. The gesture comforted her, and she sighed deeply. "… I miss having a family. Granny is always treating me like my mother, and mother… I still miss her."

A heavy silence hung in the air as Mickey calculated what to say. Some confused grumbles escaped his throat before he made a decision. "… The world's bigger than this city."

Minnie blinked hard and looked at Mickey. It was such an odd statement for the conversation she wasn't sure she heard it correctly. "Huh?"

"Somethin' my Ma told me. And showed me." Mickey wouldn't look at her, his macho sensibilities already embarrassed by what he was going to admit. "She'd try ta calm me down whenever I got angry by tellin' me how big the world is. That if I wanted, I could go and see every inch of it. And then when I got old enough to take over our pack… she went ta see the world for herself. She told me she'd be back, but that was a long time ago. And it gets hard ta remember what she said. But she was right. The world's a lot bigger than this city. And family… family is bigger too. Family, real family, is somethin' that can grow. It's not just the ones ya had when ya were born, the ones that die, the ones that go…It's, ah… it's, well… ya get what I'm sayin', don't ya?" His stamina for this sort of mushiness had died out and he tugged down hard on his black cap. He spared a glance at Minnie, and found her flushed in adoration.

"You're clever." She poked his cheek, and like a miracle cure his ego skyrocketed. "I was right to tell Mortimer that. You're terribly clever." To be honest she hadn't entirely understand his point but she knew if she had time to think about it, she'd unlock the secret. But right now she wanted to praise him. She wanted to stay with him. She still hadn't understood these feelings either but welcomed them without fear or confusion. She enjoyed the company of her dear wolf. "You always know how to make me feel better."

Mickey snorted once, chin up high. "I gotta take care of my girl, don't I?" But he instantly regretted the words, remembering the fight from days long since past, and he flared up defensively. "No! I didn't mean that! I mean, uh, gosh, not that yer a thing! Yer definitely not a thing! Yer not mine at all!"

There were no glares or yells from her this time. Instead she clicked her tongue in thought and then nodded. "I think, in a way, I am yours." She faced him again, not sure if she was wording this correctly. She was vastly enjoying the worry on his face, her adorable pup. "In the same way that you are mine. Do you understand it?" There were things they only said to one another, things they only called one another, things they only thought about one another.

It may have been the closeness of the moon, the full moon was only one night away – or it may have been Minnie's way of simply stating things that contained so much truth and prettiness that they were one and the same – but Mickey was overwhelmed with the desire to kiss her. He always found ways to complicate things but she saw past them and headed forward with more bravery than his entire pack put together. "That's right." He finally managed to speak after swallowing down his urges, though they still lingered in light flickers of his tail. "Yours and mine. Mine and yours." A relationship wasn't dominance, it was equality, and he knew he was an idiot for ever believing otherwise. He never knew walking could be filled with such happiness and warmth, and he traced his thumb over her palm over and over.

"Will you two, like, just get totally married already?"

The romantic mood wasn't so much killed as it was shot execution style. Mickey quickly jerked forward, and realized that in their walk they had reached their meeting place. Goofy, Donald, and Daisy – who , one could not help but notice, was invading all of Donald's personal space – were all waiting ahead of the mice, mouths turned into knowing smiles. Goofy offered a friendly wave as he towered over his friends, while Donald was putting a new nail between his beak. Daisy's outfit may have been a result of Donald asking her out two days ago, as now all she wore wasn't just red, it was rich, rose, romantic red. Her dress was coated in rubies, her red wig curled up in ginger around her shoulders, and each finger was adorned with heart shaped jewelry. "We've been waiting for, like, ever, while you two are off on a date! Major unfair, Mickey."

"Ah, hush up, princess." Mickey huffed, but he couldn't help but smile at how close Donald and Daisy now appeared. She was practically hanging off him and Donald couldn't be happier. The two men shared a grin of victory before facing their target. "So, this is the fortune teller's shop?"

It was a building that didn't grab anyone's attention and could easily be walked by without a second thought. The purple paint needed a fresh coat and the neon lights that used to flicker '_Magica's Lair Of Dreams_' were broken and no longer glowed in the night. The windows were boarded up, much like Donald's shop, but these boards were fresh. Minnie fished the business card Mortimer had given her out of her pocket, and it matched the address. She detangled herself from Mickey's grasp and stood before the wooden door. "This is the place. And Mortimer said this is the one that's been helping him and Pete run this city… and the one who gave advice and predictions to Mother Goose."

"You'd think it'd be a little more impressive." Donald scratched off a line of paint with his finger. "Is this place even open?"

Minnie grabbed the door handle and twisted it in her hand. "There's only one way to find out. We're not leaving until she gives us some answers about the Grimms!" She swung the door open and walked in, followed one by one by each friend. The outside had been perfectly deceptive as the inside seemed to be ten times longer than logic would allow. All the walls were decorated with elaborate mirrors of every shape and size, giving the group distorted images of themselves as they passed. They walked on top of a violet weaved rug, softening their steps as they moved forward towards an open entrance covered in hanging beads. But when they passed this makeshift door, another endless hallway greeted them with the exact same design. So they had no choice but to pass through another wall of hanging beads again, and again, and again.

Mickey hung towards the back, nudging Donald for conversation. "So," he murmured with a congratulatory enthusiasm, "Finally got the gal, did ya?"

Donald chuckled, sticking his hands in his coat pockets. "She hasn't said yes, but she hasn't said no either. But… it was good to let it out, you know? It was worth a shot." Daisy glanced over to see what the conversation was about and the two went silent at once

"I think this is the last one." Goofy suddenly announced, peering up ahead. "I see a light at the end!" He managed to make it to the hanging beads first, and pushed them aside for Minnie. She thanked him, as did the others as they followed. He smiled and was content to walk in last, though he had to bend over to do so. His height was not welcome in this shop.

Mickey's nose suffered upon their entrance, as heavy incense was laced throughout this final room. The light Goofy had seen came from a single candle resting in the middle of a small table, snugly resting in a gold handle. The light barely illuminated the cramped corners where two black puffed up chairs waited for seats, and if Minnie squinted she could see that the walls were hand painted. They were scenes of a story, perhaps of Mother Goose, but she couldn't be certain. There wasn't time to inspect the setting as the owner of the shop was there for the asking.

"Miss… Magica?" Minnie wagered a guess at the old duck woman cutting up apple slices on the table.

She was much older than anyone in the group, with bags under her dark eyes, but she no made no effort to hide it. Her raven hair was wrapped in a single violet cloth, and hoop earrings swung to be level with her chin – though from what exactly they were hanging from was anybody's guess. Her clothes wrapped loosely around her, swirling designs of purple and gold that made no effort to hide the aging feathers on her arm or the sagginess of her body. She was slicing up an apple into a single white bowl, with a knife that shone in the bare candlelight. "Miss Mouse. The Grimms told me of your arrival… and all the company you'd bring." An ugly smile smeared across her lips as she surveyed them all.

"What, no crystal ball?" Mickey waved a hand in front of his nose but the smell kept coming. "How about those fancy cards? How are ya supposed ta predict anythin' in this rusty shack?" Minnie nudged him to stop the insults but Magica didn't appear to be offended.

In fact she chuckled at his remarks. "You've been reading too many stories, half breed." She chuckled again at how quickly he frowned. "Oh yes, I know all about you… I know everything about this little band of heroes. The hunter who left his clan to pursue happiness but found only darkness wanted to keep him around. The cobbler whose entire business is dying as quickly as his hopes. The little diva who thinks she can find true love by looking for a man who doesn't exist. And then… the sweet messenger, trying to return her mother to life by living her life." She finished cutting and twirled the knife in her fingers. "All of you straying from your destined paths in hopes of finding meaning to your short lives."

Throats clenched as tightly as fists but it was gentle Goofy who took to speaking. "Ain't no disrespect meant, ma'am, but if yer only goin' on what the Grimms say, then yer as goofy as I am. We came here ta find some answers, and once we got 'em, we'll leave. Ain't no need fer trouble… specially seein' how such a small place can get a lot of dings put in it by a tall fella like mahself." Even through intimidation he smiled kindly, hands held together behind his back.

"What he said, times infinity!" Daisy clapped twice in agreement, and then slapped down on the table. "Anyone who's in with the Grimms is totes bad news! So cough it up, Magica! I bet you've got a super big connection to the whole feathers drama! And my prince charming does so exist, okay?"

Magica locked eyes only with Minnie and the messenger felt a chill race through her body. "Ever since I met Mother Goose…" She now started to peel the skin off of her apple slices. "I have assisted the Grimms. The powers that be blessed me with magic upon my birth. There are only certain people who can make magic… but anybody can use magic." Once the skin was off, she stretched it out. "That's what allows you to deliver messages. And it is what can allow all of you to achieve what you desire." She dropped the skin into the bowl. "Yes, I know what the Grimms have done, and what will happen… but wouldn't it be a better use of my time to help you get what you want?"

This conversation was leaving a bad taste in Donald's mouth. "What's that supposed to mean? You think you can bribe us and we'll walk away?"

"Bribe?" Magica began to stand up, never disrupting her slimy smile. "Use your heads. I helped give Mother Goose a city. I drove out the earliest wolves, and I've helped give the Grimms complete power over the city. Think of what I could do for you." She snapped her fingers and suddenly candles lit up from each corner of the room – had they been there all along? Was else was the darkness hiding? "My magic is endless. But I don't use it to start silly business… I know my potential, I know where and why magic exists! And with it, I can give you everything you've ever wanted, if you ally yourselves with the Grimms!"

More candles began to light on their own, rising up the heat in the room, drowning them in incense and fear. The room seemed to shrink even more with the appearance of what the paint on the walls really was – battles, wars, fights that ended with a single victor in maddened glory. "I can make everyone fear you, love you, pay you, respect you, whatever you wish! This city can be yours to command, its people slaves to do your bidding! The hunters will drink with you, shoes will fill your shop, the man of your dreams will appear before you, your family will be reunited!" She stuck out her pale hand towards Minnie over the table, beckoning her to take it. "Everything you have lost, you will gain back. Join me… join us… and you will have your dreams come true!"

It was becoming more difficult to breathe or even to think in this cramped corridor. The group backed up against each other as if the fires themselves were seducing them to a greater power. The paintings almost seemed to move in the light, seizing power and happiness, and Minnie for an instant thought she saw her mother in the last battle, telling her to come, come here, come here my sweet Minnie –

"No!" Minnie seized Magica's hand and slammed it down on the table – and all the flames but the candle on the table went out. She breathed hard, frightened by what had happened, but her gaze was as firm as her grip. "… No. We will not be bought. We… we worked too hard to get where we are now…" She began to release Magica's hand and stood back with her back straight. "As long as the Grimms are causing havoc in the city, they're putting the lives of my customers in danger. As a messenger… No, as Minnie Mouse, I won't let it happen anymore!" She could not see her friends but she sensed their movement and could predict their actions – Mickey's fanged grin of pride, Daisy sniffling and reaching for a hanky, Donald nodding his approval and Goofy resisting the temptation to give her a big hug. It was her own fortune telling. "So tell us, Magica… what are the Grimms going to do with those feathers? What have they been trying to do all along?"

Only now did Magica's expression change. Her eyes lowered in annoyance, and she held her knife upwards. "… Disappointing. From all the stories I heard about you, I thought you'd make a great asset to our tiny organization. You needn't be so rash… it's an important decision. So why don't you… sleep on it!" She then stabbed the knife into the bowl of apple cuttings and red smoke exploded from the impact. It flooded the entire room, shoving itself into the mouths and nostrils of the group.

They hacked and wheezed, unable to see anything beyond the red. It flooded their bodies, but amidst the chaos Donald managed to hear running steps. "She's getting away!" Not on his watch!

The brave Donald ran after the sound, and after a moment of intense chasing, he saw through the smoke and managed to find Magica. "You're done for, lady!" He grabbed Magica by the arm, and as the smoke cleared it was obvious she was no match for him. "You can't get out of this one! You're telling the police everything you know!"

Magica winced under his powerful grip, and then whined with lament. "Curses! I knew I shouldn't have tried to trick such a handsome and smart man! Now all of my plans are ruined!" She stood up and bowed her head in defeat, fighting back pitiful tears. "All right, I confess… take me away, and I'll them everything."

Applause rang out behind him – all of his friends were cheering for his victory. "I knew ya could do it, Donald!" Goofy slapped his leader hard on the back. "We were nothin' without ya! Three cheers for Donald!"

Hip hip, hurray! Hip hip, hurray! Hip hip, hurray! Donald proudly walked out with his companions, where the entire city was waiting to congratulate him. He had saved the city! Hurray for Donald! He's the greatest! His name will go down in history! Donald tried to shake hands with everyone, but he couldn't be there all day. He had orders to fill! With this newfound success, everyone would go to his business! He could fancy up his shop and then people from around the world would want their shoes fixed by the great hero, Donald Duck! He'd be sitting on piles of money while he shined shoes for mayors, presidents, emperors, everyone and anyone!

"Wa ha ha ha! Slow down, folks!" He laughed triumphantly in his store as everyone begged for him to take on their shoes, money falling in green rain and metal showers. "One at a time! I'll get to all of you! Wa ha ha ha ha ha!"

Wa ha ha ha ha ha…

Ha ha ha ha ha ha…

… Heeheeheehee…

Heeheeheehee…

_MWEEHEEHEEHEEHEE_!

A bony white finger ran down the long vanity mirror that showed off its victim. Magica cackled wildly at the image of her captured pray, tracing Donald's face. "Mweeheeheehee! I can't believe those fools actually thought they were going to stop us! Youth really brings out the stupidest in everyone!" Her malicious laughter echoed across the room and bounced off every mirror – including the mirrors that now also held Daisy, Goofy, Mickey and Minnie. "Honestly, Mortimer should have brought you to me ages ago… both of those men are utter fools. But at least it's finally done. Now we shall truly rule over this city, when we appear at the reunion tomorrow!"

She swung around, keeping up her insidious giggling as she faced Daisy's mirror. "It's a shame you couldn't reach your full potential, dearie… If only you knew the real secret of magic! But I'm sure you can come up with some pretty reasons in your dreams… sleep tight!" She tossed her hair over her shoulder and left her shop. Her pathetic prisoners would never leave so there was no reason to lock the door. They would be trapped in their dreams forever.

Who would want to leave their fulfilled fantasies?

* * *

Goofy probably should have been keeping tabs on how many jugs of beers he had finished, but he was too busy to stop and count. "Another round on me, fellas!" The entire bar chanted his name, and the drunken songs continued. Every hunter he knew and every client he had served were partying long into the night at the hunter's tavern. Rather, former hunters - They had followed Goofy's sage advice and hung up their weapons. No more fighting! No more killing! From now on, only friendship and laughter!

He felt light tapping on his shoulder, and glanced behind him to see Scrooge getting his attention with his cane. "Enough of that, laddie! Everyone's been wantin' to hear ye sing the next verse! Get up there!"

"Sure thing, Mister McDuck!" Goofy swallowed his next beer in one whole gulp, and then jumped off the bar stool. Goldie was there too, and he bowed formally to her before resuming his slightly tipsy walk. He slapped hands with Gaston, Le Fou, the Beagles, everyone was glad to see him and offer him more drinks, more food, more praise! Goofy, we'll never treat you badly again! You were right all along! Sing us another song, Goofy!

He kicked the jukebox and it began to belt out a classic hunter's jamboree. This was a fun one to dance to! He laughed and twirled around, and tried to find a fun dance partner. Maybe he could swing Minnie on his shoulder and –

Minnie? He grasped the air, taking no one. He slowly drew his hand back, looking at his glove. Who had he been trying to touch? His fingers flexed, and he thought he saw a faint, tiny hand in his own –

"What's with the silence, Goof?" Gaston had a muscular arm around Goofy's shoulders, bringing him back to the scene. "This is your party! You're the man of the hour! Why, you're the man of every hour!"

Goofy turned his hand back and forth but whatever picture his mind had been trying to conjure up was gone. "… Say, Gaston… don't it feel like… someone's missin'?"

"Of course not!" Gaston shoved another glass of beer into Goofy's open hand, and then swung his hand across the tavern. "All of your friends are here! We're all here for you, because you're our friend! Everyone's here because they love you! You're never going to be alone again!"

Goofy held the glass with both hands, searching across the bar. Yes, he knew all the faces there, all of these pleased people who waited for his every movement. The people who had used him for his skills but never thanked him, and the men who had laughed at his every failure and expected him to keep on failing for life, everyone was here. But they were friends now, so it was okay. This was what he wanted, for people to like him and accept who he was. His friends were here…

… Weren't they?

* * *

The orders kept on coming! Donald whistled a happy tune as a once damaged sandal was now brimming with life, eager to spread apart beautiful toes. He was a millionaire – billionaire – they had to invent new names for how much money he had! He looked up at his pristine marble walls, his shop now reaching the pinnacle of perfection. Everything about it was beautiful and cost thousands to make. He was a household name, and he paused in his work to grab a fistful of money and let it fly overhead.

The bell on his door rang – more customers! Finely dressed men and women lined up to drop their shoes off."I'm coming, I'm coming!" Donald chuckled as he walked over to take their damaged footwear. "One at a time, everyone! I can take them all!"

"Well of course you can!" A choir of voices answered him, dumping their open wallets into his palms.

"I only trust you with my shoes!"

"If you do mine first, I'll give you everything in my bank account!"

"I want to open a chain of your stories across the world!"

"Take care of mine first, mine first!"

He eagerly snatched every dollar they had, every coin that dropped, and then took their shoes to inspect them. Beautiful shoes, lovely laces, loafers, sneakers, boots, he had them all, he'd perfect them all! He held up a very pink high heel, and he laughed more, for this was the exact sort of thing Daisy would wear –

The world was loud but he was quiet. What had he thought of? Who had he thought of? The money continued stacking up at his sides but he could only see the high heel in his hands. This… it belonged to someone important. Someone important to him. He lifted his head and tried to see beyond the crowd. "W-wait, who dropped this off?" He tried to push past the piles of people but made no headway. "Whose shoe is this? I have to know!"

But the hands of his customers pulled him back in, and dumped more footwear into his arms, blocking out the pink colors. "Forget about that, do mine next!"

"Yes, it's all the same, so get to work!"

"I'll pay you extra! Triple! Quadruple!"

More shoes, more money, his life was perfect. He didn't need anything else. All customers were the same, so why worry about any of them? He had money, his shop was alive. Money lets you buy everything you want. Money buys nice things. Money gives you food, respect, nicer clothes, nicer livings. Money is the same thing as happiness. Donald was happy.

Isn't this what happiness is supposed to feel like?

* * *

It was the concert of a lifetime! You had to buy tickets half a year in advance to get in, but Daisy was generous enough to let in some latecomers as well. Her joy was their joy. Besides, no one should miss the one and only time a concert was also a wedding! Princess Daisy had at last found her Prince Charming and they would be together forever! Her music had spread across the world and everyone wanted to see her in her wedding dress. The concert hall was stacked – some even had to sit on their friend's shoulders to get a proper view.

Then the lights came on! The guitar roared and the drums beat! Spot light, center stage, there was our beautiful princess! And what a wedding dress! Every single tailor in the land had a hand in creating it. The wedding train was as long as an actual train. She blew kisses to her fans as they cheered their love for her, but it was nothing like the love her future husband had for her. There he was, waiting at the end of the stage, dressed in a bright white tuxedo. He was rich, and handsome, and famous! He had no flaws, and he held out his hands to her, excited to start their lives together.

Daisy giggled and began to walk toward, taking petals from her bouquet and sprinkling over her fans. They loved her, she loved them, it was an endless echo of love. Her music was making everyone happy, and she was going to sing her vows – they'd be triple platinum hits by the end of the ceremony, no doubt! Everyone should feel a love like her prince was giving to her. Everyone should have a man who is perfect. That's what love is – perfection. Nothing ever goes wrong with love.

Oh, how she loved him! She loved everything about him! She loved from the top of his head all the way to the bottom of his shoes, which if they ever broke, Donald could easily repair –

She stopped her walk and lifted her veil. Even then it was difficult to see – the flower petals were dancing everywhere. His shoes wouldn't break, he was perfect. Yet she swore – could have sworn – there was someone who wasn't perfect out there. She looked back at out at her audience. Everyone was there, everyone from the city, everyone from the world. No one was missing. And yet – yet – something wasn't right, something wasn't perfect, something was wrong –

Prince Charming took her hand and kissed it. "Let's go, my sweet. On with the show!" He pulled her into his perfect arms with his perfect fingers and perfect voice.

Daisy couldn't see his face, and she touched a floating petal, wrinkled and worn out. "Wait… something's…" But what was it? What was wrong? She couldn't say it, and it was so hard to think. "You… love me, don't you…?"

"I love you!" Prince Charming kissed the top of her head with perfect adoration. "I'll love you forever, because you're perfect! And you love me because I'm perfect! You wouldn't love me if I wasn't perfect. Now let's be the perfect husband and wife, and have a perfect happily ever after!" He turned her forward as their perfect master of ceremonies started the ceremony with cymbals.

It was a perfect concert, and her fiancé was perfect, and her dress was perfect, and her love was perfect. What was love if it wasn't perfect? Why would you love anyone if they had flaws? Why would anyone love you if you made mistakes? Love was flaw free. Love didn't have blemishes. The audience loved her. Prince Charming loved her. The world loved her.

Wasn't this what love meant?

* * *

The howls reached across the sky and joined in unison. It was good to breathe in, to bask in the night without any smog or smoke. The buildings were lost memories, and now only towering trees were allowed to take up spaces. It was a happier time for everyone. Wolves were free to roam, and they did so without prosecution. They were free to be who they wanted without intimidating anyone. Their families could grow. They were respected. They were loved.

Their land had been returned so anger amongst the wolf clan was gone. The air wasn't polluted so they could live longer and become healthier. They could relax, they could smile – they could run! Look at the Alpha go! He was the fastest of them all, bounding across trees and showing them what their leader could do. Naturally he won the race, but by the end of it they were all so exhausted they flopped on their backs and wagged their tails. This was home. It was their home again at last.

Mickey sat up, wiping sweat from his neck as he watched his happy brothers and sisters roll over. "All right, since I won the race, I get ta rename the land. But I'm willin' ta take suggestions. Gimmie yer best ideas!" Once his land had a name, it would all be right. It would be truly theirs again and nothing could take it away. As long as you had your home you didn't need anything else.

"Aw, who needs a name?" One of the mangier wolves began to stand up and stretch. "It's home sweet home! What name could beat that? Ours, and no one else's! The wolves finally rule again!"

"And it's all thanks to our Alpha!" A female wolf began to help the others get up so they could hail their ruler. "He's a true wolf through and through! Thanks to him, we'll never have to worry again!"

Mickey smirked at the heaps of praise, and then looked up at the stars. Without the Grimms, they could finally see the sky again, and daylight could shine soon without being blocked. He'd gotten his revenge and the wolves had their trees, their land, their territory. This was home. All they needed was their home. Mickey was on his feet, and he walked in between the trees. The grass was growing healthily under his boots, and the wind was clean. Here was home forevermore. Here his wolves would live, where they would raise their families, where they would never fear the moon and the magic again. The wind blew on his lips, as soft as Minnie's kiss –

He opened his eyes and saw only the trees. There was a scent here, a lovely scent, but it was gone, fleeting, and Mickey was desperate to follow it. What was this scent? Who did it belong to? His heart ached and he wanted to move, but in a flash of gray the wolves were running around him.

"Let's race again, Alpha!"

"Yeah, there's tons more to explore!"

"We're home at last!"

They gave him a push and he started to run on his own. They followed behind him, by his sides, and they were home, and everything was right. The scent was the other way but what was the point of following it? He had his home. What were you without a home? He had lasted this long without the forest but now he could really start living. Now his pack would be happier. Now his family got what they wanted. He wanted a home. He wanted a place to belong. He wanted to be himself.

Shouldn't this have been enough?

* * *

The world was one big red riding hood. Minnie was nestled into her mother's hood and it covered every inch of her body. Her head was on mother's lap, her hair was woven through by mother's fingers, and mother was singing her to sleep. Everything else had been one long, scary dream. Mother – Mommy – never left. She never died. She stayed at home with her daughter and they were happy. Mommy was warm. Minnie never had to grow up. She never had to leave. Mommy was here. Mommy would always be here.

"My sweet Minnie." Mommy cooed, petting her daughter's ears. "I'll always be here for you. I love you so much." Mommy's fingers went over Minnie's face, giving rest to all of her weary muscles.

Minnie yawned and cuddled in closer, nuzzling Mommy's stomach. "I love you too, Mommy. I missed you so much." No more loneliness. No more tears. Mommy was here and that was all Minnie needed. "We'll be together forever, won't we?"

"That's right." Mommy kissed Minnie's ear, whispering into her. "Mommy will never leave you. It's just going to be me and you, from now on, forever and ever." Nothing existed outside of her embrace. Minnie would never need anything. She would never want anything. Mommy was here and all was well. "I will always be here for you."

Minnie closed her eyes, wearing a sleepy smile touched by Mommy's fair fingers. "And we can do everything… You can tell me all about your deliveries… and all of your adventures… I want to know all of it… The places you went… the people you saw…" Mommy must have seen the most incredible people, strong people, funny people, handsome people, clever people – terribly clever –

Her eyes flew open. He was terribly clever, wasn't he? The hood tightened around her but she tried to sit up, unwilling to let the memory fade. Someone was wonderfully, brilliantly clever and she – she wanted to – she could see him – but Mommy was pulling her back in. "Now now, sweet Minnie, stay with Mommy…"

But – but – "I can't!" She tried to pull herself up as she could see fangs that meant her no harm, and she wanted to touch the mouth they belonged to. "He's waiting for me!" She didn't know who he was, but he was important, and it hurt, it hurt so much to pull away, but he was waiting for her! This boy, this angry boy who needed someone to hear him, he was waiting for her and he needed her – "He needs me!"

"Nobody needs you but Mommy." Mommy wouldn't let Minnie go and the red hood flooded Minnie's vision. "You don't need anybody but your Mommy."

That wasn't true! There was someone who needed her – there were many someones! Boys, and a girl, and she reached for them, and then her words fought through the fog in her body. "My friends! They're all waiting for me! My friends!"

My friends!

My friends!

MY FRIENDS!

* * *

Goofy's glass shattered on the ground. He'd heard that kind voice before, and he began to run on the wooden floor, trying to find the door. "She's callin' fer me!"

* * *

"I can't stay here!" Daisy threw her bouquet to the crowd and whirled around, her elaborate veil coming off in one fell swoop. "She needs me! They all totally need me!"

* * *

Donald jumped over the counter, rolling up his sleeves before dive bombing past the lines of customers. "This isn't what I want! They're waiting for me! They're all waiting for me!"

* * *

"I'm comin' Red!" Mickey wasn't letting any of his brethren get in his way, turning away and heading towards the one he was meant to be with. "I won't let any of ya go! I promise, I won't ever leave ya guys again!"

* * *

Minnie couldn't breathe, the red riding hood was choking her. Mommy wouldn't let go, and even now she continued to speak softly, fingernails digging in. "You can't leave your Mommy. We're finally together again. You don't need anyone else. Mommy's here, you have your family again."

Minnie reached out and stuck her fingers in the cloth, gripping with all of her strength. "No! Not anymore! You've been gone a long time… and I have to… to accept that! You're not coming back!" Hot tears ran down her face, yet she continued to pull at the strings. "I miss you so much… but I can't become you! I'm not you! I'm Minnie…And they are… they are…"

He had been right. The world was so much bigger than Grimm City. There was never one simple way to define things. Now she knew what he had been trying to tell her, and she reached and pulled. "Donald… Daisy… Goofy… Mickey… They're… they're my family!"

THEY'RE MY FAMILY!

* * *

Gaston grabbed Goofy by the shoulder, pulling him backwards. "Slow down, friend! You don't want to leave the party! Everyone would miss you!" He tried to push Goofy back towards the bar, where everyone was waiting.

Goofy shoved him off hard enough to make Gaston bang his head on a stool. "No they wouldn't, 'cause they ain't my friends! None of ya are! I don't want fake friends… I want real ones! The ones who accepted me 'cause of who I was, right from the start! They had my back and wouldn't let ya make fun of me! I don't need any of ya… not when I got the best friends… the best family a fella could ever want!" He faced the front door again, and lunged for the handle. "I won't let them down! Not Donald, not Daisy, not Mickey or Minnie… They're my real friends!"

Crack…

* * *

"Wait, my beloved!" Prince Charming grabbed Daisy's wedding train to yank her back in desperation. "I love you! I'm the man of your dreams!"

"If you're the man of my dreams…" Daisy yanked off her engagement ring, and threw it at his face. "Then stay in my dreams! I totally need to face reality! There's no such thing as happily ever after! It's always going to have major drama and bumps in the road! Nobody's perfect!" With the obstacle disposed of, she raced to the other side of the stage. "And that's totally awesome! Love isn't perfect! The flaws a person has is what makes them special! Bad fashion, bad temper, they're what make Donald who he is! And I, like, wouldn't want him any other way!"

The stage door was waiting for her, and she reached for it with naked fingers. "I've got beyond best friends waiting for me! They all make mistakes, they all have problems, and so do I! And we love each other, for real!"

Crack crack…

* * *

"Name your price!"

"I'll give you my mansion!"

"You're the only one we can rely on!"

Donald grabbed all the money he had in his pockets and tossed it out, as it was weighing him down. "Shut up, shut up, shut up! I don't need this, and I don't need you!" He was pushing every customer aside to get to that front door and no one was able to stop him. "They got me out of my shop and showed me how to live again! I don't need money to make me happy! Money can't give me their good times, a brother to share problems with, and a girl to drive me crazy! You can't pay me the happiness they give me! You can't buy a family!"

Money was thrown and rained on him, yelling voices becoming one greedy, gluttonous creature to try and drive him back. "Any price you want! Anything you want! We'll give you what you want!"

Donald spat out his nail toward them, and made a gigantic leap to grab the door handle. "What I want is on the other side! Even if Daisy tells me no, even if we all fail together… I won't let them out of my life! They are my happiness!"

The crackling began to spread…

* * *

The scent was getting stronger with every racing step Mickey made, and he could duck and weave around every wolf that tried to block him. "The world's so much bigger than this forest! I don't need it! I don't need revenge! My home was with me all along!"

"But this is our home!" One wolf made a swipe at Mickey's legs to slow him down. "This is where we belong!"

Mickey laughed hard enough it could be considered a howl. "So much for me bein' clever… I can't believe I thought ya were real! My pack, my real pack, knows we don't need a bunch of trees ta make a home! Home is where ya friends are! Home is where ya family is! And it took me way too long ta see where my family was!" He leapt bounds over his other wolves, reaching out for his target. "No matter where we go, no matter where we live, home is with each other! And that wonderful Red… she's my home sweet home!"

Four hands reached out towards the single hand pushing and pulling through the intricate weavings of red. Goofy, Donald, Daisy and Mickey all reached out to take Minnie, and Minnie was crying to see them, crying to leave Mommy, crying because she now understood so many things – her friends, her family, and her wolf, her wolf, her Mickey, her terribly clever Mickey, her Mickey who kept her safe, who impressed her in stupid ways, who she belonged to and that belonged to her in turn –

The mirrors shattered and Minnie opened her eyes. She was laying sideways on the floor of Magica's shop, covered in bits of broken glass. Slowly, she pushed on her hands to look around, but someone was laying on her legs – Mickey! And there was Donald! Daisy too, and Goofy! They were all opening their eyes and blinking, and all at once came a jubilant yell of everybody's names. Donald hugged Daisy, Minnie hugged Mickey, and then the four where in a group hug created by Goofy, and they laughed.

"Gosh, I feel like I haven't seen any of ya in ages!" Goofy sniffled, ready to blubber huge silly tears. "I missed everyone so much! It was real awful! It…" he then glanced behind him at the destroyed mirrors, raising his eyebrows. "… What was it, anyhow?"

Donald picked up a broken mirror shard, ignoring Daisy's rampant kisses along his face. "That apple… it must have been part of her magic! She tricked us all and made her getaway!" He began to help Daisy to her feet, searching his friends for any sign of injuries. "How long have we been in there? What day is it?"

"I can tell ya." Mickey's voice was suddenly dark, the cheer of reunion swept away. He was standing under a window, intense eyes at the sky. "… It's the night of the full moon." He could feel it pump inside of his veins. The magic was high in the city, high in the room, and it was putting him on edge. "… The reunion's tonight. Whatever they were plannin' ta do… we couldn't stop it. We're too late."

Perhaps such news would have devastated the group, but Minnie wouldn't allow them to waste time in lost chances. "No we're not! We're going to the reunion!" She retied the string of her hood, and faced the original doorway of the shop, the last bits of glass falling from her clothes. "If they've already started their plan, then we'll stop it! When we're together, we can do anything! We will stop them, we will free the wolves, and this is the last chance we have to do it!" She then faced her friends – her family – and stuck out her hand. "Are you with me?"

They looked at another but there wasn't a great need to think things over. Goofy leaned forward to place his hand on top of Minnie's. "Sure am! I'd do anythin' fer my real friends! If the rest of ya believe in me, then I believe in what we can do!"

"How can I say no to anything that cheesy?" Donald rolled his eyes while putting his hand in the pile. "Besides, last time I checked, I was invited to the reunion. I'm stuck with you weirdos, so I may as well see this out to the very end. Maybe then we can get to know each other when something strange isn't attacking the city."

Daisy only joined her hand in once she removed her wig. "I'm think it's time I went with a more retro, old school style, don't you totally think? Giving up is definitely last season. Let's go show these silly boys what happens when you mess with the coolest family ever!"

Now all eyes were on Mickey but he had yet to look away from the moon. He wasn't going to admit it, but he was afraid. The wolves were supposed to hide and lock themselves away during this time. Now his wolves were all in jail, and he was entering into danger. Who knew what affect the night would have him? What if he hurt his new family? What if he hurt Minnie? He finally looked over, but before he could admit his worries, he saw fear reflected back in him from all of his companions.

Of course they were afraid. They didn't know what they were facing, and they had just sampled a taste of extremely powerful magic. They were scared right down to the depths of their bones – and yet they were still going. They would fight on despite how afraid they were. Perhaps they found the strength to face their fears within each other. Or perhaps they had been brave all along, and it was this odd ragtag team that brought it out. Either way, it made Mickey's worries seem deeply insignificant. He huffed, and then stuck his paw inside. "Like ya even had ta ask? The pack stays together, no matter what. Lead the way, Red."

They broke up hands, and headed out with one destination in mind – Mother Goose's Hall of Education. It was the only school in the entire city, and it would be the final battleground, illuminated by the light of the dangerous full moon.

* * *

Tick, tock. Clothes taken off the rack. Cigars stuffed into pockets.

They closed the door behind them. Tick. Tock.

Then the tall clock in the office of the Grimms chimed out nine times. It was 9 o'clock. The Grimms would arrive at the Hall of Education by 10. The ceremony would start at 10: 15. But as far as the men and woman inside the limousine were concerned, the countdown had begun years ago. Back when the wolves ruled the land, back when a foolish goose of a woman had tried to make peace with them. Now her past mistakes would be erased forever.

Tick. Tock. For the wolves, their time was up.

**End of Chapter Nine.**


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